Ideas of Social Order in the Ancient World - (Contributions in Political Science) by Vilho Harle (Hardcover)

About the Book

Harle focuses on the perennial issue of social order by providing a comparative analysis of ideas on social order in the classical Chinese political philosophy, the Indian epic and political literature, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, the classical Greek and Roman political thought, and early Christianity. His analysis is based on the religious, political, and literary texts that represent their respective civilizations as both their major achievements and sources of shared values.

Harle maintains that two major approaches to establishing and maintaining social order exist in all levels and types of social relations: moral principles and political power. According to the principle-oriented approaches, social order will prevail if and when people follow strict moral principles. According to the contending power-oriented approach, orderly relations can only be based on the application of power by the ruler over the ruled. The principle-oriented approaches introduce a comprehensive civil society of individuals; the power-oriented approaches give major roles to the city-state, its government and relationships between them. The question of morality can be recognized also within the power-oriented approaches which either submit politics to morality or maintain that politics must be taken as nothing else than politics. This book is a contribution to peace and international studies as well as political theory and international relations.

Book Synopsis

Harle focuses on the perennial issue of social order by providing a comparative analysis of ideas on social order in the classical Chinese political philosophy, the Indian epic and political literature, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, the classical Greek and Roman political thought, and early Christianity. His analysis is based on the religious, political, and literary texts that represent their respective civilizations as both their major achievements and sources of shared values.

Harle maintains that two major approaches to establishing and maintaining social order exist in all levels and types of social relations: moral principles and political power. According to the principle-oriented approaches, social order will prevail if and when people follow strict moral principles. According to the contending power-oriented approach, orderly relations can only be based on the application of power by the ruler over the ruled. The principle-oriented approaches introduce a comprehensive civil society of individuals; the power-oriented approaches give major roles to the city-state, its government and relationships between them. The question of morality can be recognized also within the power-oriented approaches which either submit politics to morality or maintain that politics must be taken as nothing else than politics. This book is a contribution to peace and international studies as well as political theory and international relations.

Review Quotes

"A book of this sort has been long overdue. Professor Harle's work provides the most erudite foundation for a revision of Euro-centric and mono-cultural notions of international order that I have yet read."-Stephen Chan Dean of Humanities The Nottingham Trent University

"Vilho Harle possesses the kind of moral sensibility and intellectual ability that is all too rare in academia, especially in his field of international studies. In this book, Dr. Harle displays a deep, comparative command of the principal ideas and values across a number of civilizations and the capacity to discover humanity's 'common cultural heritage' in which lies the possibility for global peace and inter-civilization decency."-Shiraz Dossa Professor of Political Science St. Francis Xavier University Nova Scotia, Canada

"Vilho Harle, is a professor of International Relations, a discipline that I have usually treated with suspicion....I apologize to Professor Harle, whose work has made me view International Relations with new eyes....[H]is conclusions will warm the heart of social historians and humanists everywhere....[A] valuable analytical tool and a useful point of reference, being comprehensive, clear, thought-provoking and well-written."-Scandinavian Economic History Review, #1, 1999

?Upper-division students in peace studies, religious studies, political science, and philosophy should find a wonderfully stimulating cross-cultural discussion of some of the most lasting questions of all civilzations. Highly reommended.?-Choice

?Vilho Harle, is a professor of International Relations, a discipline that I have usually treated with suspicion....I apologize to Professor Harle, whose work has made me view International Relations with new eyes....[H]is conclusions will warm the heart of social historians and humanists everywhere....[A] valuable analytical tool and a useful point of reference, being comprehensive, clear, thought-provoking and well-written.?-Scandinavian Economic History Review, #1, 1999

"Upper-division students in peace studies, religious studies, political science, and philosophy should find a wonderfully stimulating cross-cultural discussion of some of the most lasting questions of all civilzations. Highly reommended."-Choice

About the Author

VILHO HARLE is Professor of International Relations at University of Lapland in Finland. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for International Studies, the London School of Economics in 1996-1997. He has published and edited more than ten books and journal issues as well as a number of articles in scientific journals.