'A splendid book: economical, invigorating and surprising' The Times 'He has that gift ... to illuminate abstruse and abstract ideas with human charm' Observer What can Samuel Butler's ideas teach us about how we choose to organise our societies? How did Frederick Douglass expose the horrors of slavery and champion a new approach to abolishing it? And what does Friedrich Nietzsche predict for our future? From Rousseau to Rawls, fascism to feminism and pleasure to anarchy, David Runciman's bold new follow up to Confronting Leviathan 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' ObserverIn this bold new follow-up to Confronting Leviathan, David 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, this is a mind-bending tour through the history of ideas which will forever change your view of politics today.