What is the history of ideas – and how has it shaped our world today?

The History of Ideas: Equality, Justice and Revolution by David Runciman is out now from Jonathan Ball Publishers!

In this bold new follow-up to Confronting Leviathan, Runciman unmasks modern politics and reveals the great men and women of ideas behind it.

What can Samuel Butler’s ideas teach us about the oddity of how we choose to organise our societies? How did Frederick Douglass not only expose the horrors of slavery, but champion a new approach to abolishing it? Why should we tolerate snobbery, betrayal and hypocrisy, as Judith Shklar suggested? And what does Friedrich Nietzsche predict for our future?

From Rousseau to Rawls, fascism to feminism and pleasure to anarchy, The History of Ideas is a mind-bending tour through the history of ideas which will forever change your view of politics today.

‘A splendid book: economical, invigorating and surprising’ – The Times

‘He has that gift, both as a podcaster and as a writer, to illuminate abstruse and abstract ideas with human charm’ – Observer

Categories International Non-fiction

Tags David Runciman Jonathan Ball Publishers New books New releases The History of Ideas