In The Political Animal, Stephen Clark investigates the political nature of the human animal. His book, based on biological science and traditional ethics, probes into areas of inquiry hitherto ignored by traditional political theory. He argues for the significance of social bonds that transcend state authority and provides numerous examples of how the needs of human beings are better served by institutions other than the imperial state.

Understanding the ties that bind us suggests that ‘states’ have less authority and importance than is presently supposed. Stephen Clark believes that a properly informed political philosophy must take the role of women, children and the domestic virtues more seriously and be prepared to face up to the ethnocentric and domineering tendencies of the human animal.

The Author

Stephen R.L. Clark is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Liverpool. He is the author of Animals and Their Moral Standing, also published by Routledge in 1997.