Documenting the process by which government and controlling majorities have grown increasingly powerful and tyrannical, Bertrand de Jouvenel demonstrates how democracies have failed to limit the powers of government. This development Jouvenel traces all the way back to the days of royal absolutism, which established large administrative bureaucracies and thus laid the foundation of the modern omnipotent state."On Power" is an important work that Professor Angelo M. Petroni of the Luigi Einaudi Center for Research in Torino, Italy, has said is "simply a book that no serious scholar of political science or political philosophy can afford to ignore."Bertrand de Jouvenel was born in Paris in 1903; he traveled widely, becoming an astute observer of British and American institutions. Later in life, he was an author and teacher, first publishing "On Power" in 1945. Jouvenel died in 1987. Among his other books, besides "The Ethics of Redistribution, " are "Sovereignty: An Inquiry into the Political Good" (1957) and "The Pure Theory of Politics" (1963).

In this concluding volume in the trilogy that begins with "On Power" and moves to "Sovereignty," Bertrand de Jouvenel proposes to remedy a serious deficiency in political science, namely, "the lack of agreement on first principles, or 'elements.'" The author's concern is with political processes as they actually exist, not as they are conjectured to be in hypothetical models. As an indication of the originality and imaginativeness that Jouvenel brings to his task, the sections explore "Politics as History," "Setting: Ego in Otherdom," "Action: Instigation and Response," "Authority: 'Potestas' and 'Potentia, '" "Decisions," and "Attitudes." Jouvenel draws richly upon the "drama of politics" as it is portrayed in the works of Thucydides and Shakespeare.Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987) was a renowned observer of British and American institutions.Daniel J. Mahoney is Associate Professor of Politics at Assumption College.

In this concluding volume in the trilogy that begins with "On Power" and moves to "Sovereignty," Bertrand de Jouvenel proposes to remedy a serious deficiency in political science, namely, "the lack of agreement on first principles, or 'elements.'" The author's concern is with political processes as they actually exist, not as they are conjectured to be in hypothetical models. As an indication of the originality and imaginativeness that Jouvenel brings to his task, the sections explore "Politics as History," "Setting: Ego in Otherdom," "Action: Instigation and Response," "Authority: 'Potestas' and 'Potentia, '" "Decisions," and "Attitudes." Jouvenel draws richly upon the "drama of politics" as it is portrayed in the works of Thucydides and Shakespeare.Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987) was a renowned observer of British and American institutions.Daniel J. Mahoney is Associate Professor of Politics at Assumption College.

"After reading this insightful and charming classic, no one can believe that there are any arguments left for the redistributionist. De Jouvenel devastates every claim for either logic or morality in their position. . ."--Henry G. Manne, Dean, School of Law, George Mason UniversityIn this concise and elegant work, first published in 1952, Bertrand de Jouvenel purposely ignores the economic evidence that redistributional efforts sap incentives and are economically destructive. Rather, he stresses the commonly disregarded ethical arguments showing that redistribution is ethically indefensible for, and practically unworkable in, a complex society.A new introduction relates Jouvenel's arguments to current discussions about the redistributionist state and draws out many of the points of affinity with the works of Buchanan, Hayek, Rawls, and others.John Gray is Emeritus Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics.