This history of political theory is written in the light of the hypothesis that theories of politics are themselves a part of politics. In other words, they do not refer to an external reality but are produced as a normal part of the social milieu in which politics itself has its being. The reflection upon the ends of political action, upon the means of achieving them, upon the possibilities and necessities of political situations, and upon the obligations that political purposes impose, is an intrinsic element of the whole political process. Such thought evolves along with the institutions, the agencies of government, the moral and physical stresses to which it refers and which - one likes at least to believe - it, in some degree, controls.
George Holland Sabine Bücher
George H. Sabine war ein Philosoph, der am besten für sein wegweisendes Werk zur Geschichte der politischen Theorie bekannt ist. Seine Schriften erforschten akribisch die komplexen Denkströmungen, die politische Ideen über Epochen hinweg geprägt haben. Sabine zeichnete sich durch seinen präzisen analytischen Ansatz und seine Fähigkeit aus, die Nuancen historischer philosophischer Argumente zu beleuchten. Seine Gelehrsamkeit bleibt ein Eckpfeiler für das Verständnis der Entwicklung der politischen Philosophie.
