Political Theory meets its revival in the monumental work of John Rawls, ‘A Theory of Justice’ (1971).
He sleeps to evolve a working basis for social cooperation in liberal democratic society by engaging himself in the problem of distribution of liberties, opportunities, income, wealth and bases of self-respect.
New Themes:
The other prominent themes that have surfaced in the contemporary political theory are as follows.
1. Communitarians:
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Theorists such as Michael Walzer, Michael Sandel, Alistair Maclntyre and Charles Taylor belong to this school.
They reject the liberal conception of individuated self and hold that self is part of social relations in which he/she is embedded, Michael Sandel-Liberealism and the limits of justice. Maclntye- after vireture
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2. Post modernism:
It got genesis in the writings of Jacques Derrida and Michel Focanlt. They attack the universalistic foundations of political theory and stress on decentered, fragmented nature of human experience. Identity and culture are the prominent aspects on which post modernists emphasized.
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Michael Fohcault-power/knowledge J.F. Lyotard-Postmodern Condition.
Multiculturalism:
Scholars like Will Kymlicka, I.M. Young and Bhikhu Parekh have laid stress on the attribute of culture as context of experience and human well being.
They blame the contemporary political theory of being culture biased and neglecting the concerns of different cultural groups.
As such they have favored-a regime of group differentiated right to address discrimination meted out to cultural identities as well as the ambit of democracy.
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Will Kymlicka-Multicultural Citizenship Bhiku Parekh-Rethinking Multiculturalism
3. Feminism:
The theorists of this school have attacked the alleged neutrality of public sphere. Instead, they locate structures of power that symbolize power of men over women. It neglects the aspect of gender and results in subjugation of women.
J. Chapman-Politics, Feminism and Reformation of Gender
S.M. Okin-Justice, Gender and Family
4. Environmentalism:
The theorists of this school have attacked the notion of progress that has led to depletion of flora and fauna over the years. Instead they place ecological components at the centre of political theory and emphasize its importance over other animate objects.