• FrontMatter,
• Contents,
• Preface,
• One. Introduction,
• Two. Machiavelli: Remembrance And The Republic,
• Three. Edmund Burke: Political Order And The Past,
• Four. Aleixs De Tocqueville: The Politics Of Affection,
• Five. Thinking About The Republic: A Note On Equality And Authority,
• Bibliography,
• Index,

This inquiry into the nature of political action concerns what the author describes as the most precarious and uncertain of human endeavors." Focusing on specific themes in Machiavelli, Burke, and Tocqueville, Bruce Smith identifies political action as a distinct mode of human activity.
Originally published in 1985.
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