This book explores the political and legal institutions necessary for a democratic socialism in advanced industrial societies. It argues that a democratic socialist society needs a firm framework of public law, and a formal constitution. Populist conceptions of direct democracy and informal justice are argued to be inadequate as the primary means of democratic control in a complex society; likewise Marxist views of the "withering away of the state" are challenged as utopian. The book maintains that radical reforms in political institutions are necessary in order to effect social change.

First published in 1976, this book is concerned with the nature of classification in the social sciences. Its thesis is that classifications are dependent upon and are derived from theoretical explanations. Classification is not a theoretically neutral typification or ordering of social forms. This is because objects classified a " societies, social institutions a " are not given to knowledge independently of the categories which construct them and because the categories of classification are themselves the products of theories.

This title, first published in 1975, contains two complimentary studies by Paul Q. Hirst: the first based on Claude Bernard's theory of scientific knowledge, and the second concerning Emile Durkheim's attempt to provide a philosophical foundation for a scientific sociology in The Rules of Sociological Method. The author's primary concern is to answer the question: is Durkheim's theory of knowledge logically consistent and philosophically viable? His principal conclusion is that the epistemology developed in the Rules is an impossible one and that its inherent contradictions are proof that sociology as it is commonly understood can never be a scientific discipline.

First published in 1976, this book is concerned with the nature of classification in the social sciences. Its thesis is that classifications are dependent upon and are derived from theoretical explanations. Classification is not a theoretically neutral typification or ordering of social forms. This is because objects classified a " societies, social institutions a " are not given to knowledge independently of the categories which construct them and because the categories of classification are themselves the products of theories.

This book explores the political and legal institutions necessary for a democratic socialism in advanced industrial societies. It argues that a democratic socialist society needs a firm framework of public law, and a formal constitution. Populist conceptions of direct democracy and informal justice are argued to be inadequate as the primary means of democratic control in a complex society; likewise Marxist views of the "withering away of the state" are challenged as utopian. The book maintains that radical reforms in political institutions are necessary in order to effect social change.

This volume is concerned with the re-evaluation and criticism of Capital itself. It is in three parts, each covering a specific area of Marxist theory. The first part contains an investigation into Marx's theory of value and considers the types of questions and modes of analysis to which this theory leads. In the second part the nature and implications of necessary economic ?laws of tendency? in the capitalist mode of production are covered. Finally there is an analysis of the role of class structure and economic agents in Marxist theory.

First published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This volume is concerned with the re-evaluation and criticism of Capital itself. It is in three parts, each covering a specific area of Marxist theory. The first part contains an investigation into Marx's theory of value and considers the types of questions and modes of analysis to which this theory leads. In the second part the nature and implications of necessary economic 'laws of tendency' in the capitalist mode of production are covered. Finally there is an analysis of the role of class structure and economic agents in Marxist theory.

English political pluralism is a challenging school of political thought, neglected in recent years but now enjoying a revival of interest. It s particularly relevant today because it offers a critique of centralized sovereign state power. The leading theorists of the pluralist state were G.D.H. Cole, J.N. Figgis and H.J. Laski, and this volume brings together their most important ideas, making accessible a crucial body of work on radical political theory. It includes their major writings, mostly out of print and difficult to obtain, and here gathered together in an anthology for the first time. Current in the first two decades of this century, English political pluralism offered a convincing critique of state sovereignty and proposed a decentralized and federated form of authority - "pluralism" - in which the affairs of society would be conducted by self-governing and independent associations. Paul Hirst's comprehensive introduction situates English political pluralism historically and gives a critical account of its main theoretical themes and the debate surrounding them. The book will be of interest to those who see radical reform as vital for the future health of democracy, to

This title, first published in 1975, contains two complimentary studies by Paul Q. Hirst: the first based on Claude Bernard's theory of scientific knowledge, and the second concerning Emile Durkheim's attempt to provide a philosophical foundation for a scientific sociology in The Rules of Sociological Method. The author's primary concern is to answer the question: is Durkheim's theory of knowledge logically consistent and philosophically viable? His principal conclusion is that the epistemology developed in the Rules is an impossible one and that its inherent contradictions are proof that sociology as it is commonly understood can never be a scientific discipline.

First published in 1975, this book investigates the various pre-capitalist modes of production briefly indicated in the works of Marx and Engels, and gives an examination of the conditions of the transition from one mode of production to another. The fundamental concepts used in these investigations, including those of mode of production, of necessary labour and surpass labour, of politics and state, are derived from Capital and from other works of Marxist theory. The primary aim of the analysis is to raise the conceptualisation of pre-capitalist modes of production and of transition to a more rigorous level. This book will appear controversial to both Marxists and non-Marxists alike.

Carl Schmitt's thought serves as a warning against the dangers of complacency entailed by triumphant liberalism. His conception of politics is a sharp challenge to those who believe that the blurring of frontiers between the left and right and the increasing mobilization of political discourse constitute great advances for democracy. Schmitt reminds us forcefully that the essence of politics is a struggle and that the distinction between friend and enemy cannot be abolished.