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Political philosophy is seldom an obviously efficacious mode of political action. Nonetheless, because it is always articulated in the context of a struggle for justice and power which shapes human lives, its efforts to make sense of the conditions for beneficial collective human accomplishments are far from irrelevant to responsible political practice.¹ Its analyses are never fully independent of the historical context in which they arise. And they always contain at least implied recommendations for future conduct. As a consequence of its time-bound character the arguments proper to political philosophy are for the most part enthymematic rather than demonstrative. They claim persuasiveness rather than conclusiveness.²

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-011-3564-1_9

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