This anthology of social and political philosophy combines extensive selections from classical works with significant recent contributions to the field, many of which are not easily available. The emphasis is on the liberal currents in modern Western political thought—variants of classical liberalism, modern liberalism, and libertarianism—with specific focus on differing concepts of political obligation, freedom, distributive justice, and representative democracy.

Each chapter features selections from classical thinkers alongside writings by influential contemporary philosopers and political theorists, thus tracing the historical development and transformation of ideas. Among the classical authors represented in this collection are Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Mill. Modern philosophers include John Rawls, Isaiah Berlin, T.M. Scanlon, Robert Nozick, and Thomas Nagel.