Four Western political thinkers

THERE'S something to be said about thinking and the thoughts that go with it. Here are four examples of the fruitful results of profound thinking by four personalities who have left an indelible mark in the School of Western Thought.

THERE is a lush undergrowth of concepts surrounding the book's four major
Western political thinkers. Their arguments and points of interest will
leave some bathed in the light of understanding and suck others deep into
the abyss of confusion.
Fortunately, for the benefit of the less intellectually inclined, the
book is packaged to facilitate understanding and assist in the learning
process.
There is a mini-biographical account of each philosopher at the outset,
followed by chapters under various themes, leading to a short Note of
Sources and ending with a section on Further Reading.
Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx have been
chosen because they helped shape Western political thinking to varying
degrees.
Machiavelli (1469-1527) earned notoriety for his work The Prince which
calls for bad faith and cruelty in the attainment of political objectives.
It stresses "doing what is necessary as and when a situation demands it"
regardless of righteousness and morality.
Hobbes (1588-1679) earned fame in the fields of empiricism, nominalism
and materialism. He believed the power of the State should be absolute.
His contributions to posterity include De Cive (1642), Elements of Law
(1650), Leviathan (1651), and Of Liberty and Necessity (1654).
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) is known as the founder of Utilitarianism,
and Karl Marx (1818-1883) the founder of modern Communism.
They are covered here most satisfactorily in many aspects. The authors,
befitting the stature of university dons, give detailed discussion of each
subject and leave few stones unturned. There is an interesting portrait of
each thinker's life as the thread of thought is woven into the fabric of a
particular philosophy.
There are basically two levels at which this book may be read. On the
first level, the reader can take a leisurely hop, skip and jump over the
more pedantic and pedagogic passages and then mentally stroll through the
most interesting parts.
The second level, reserved mainly for those who are familiar with the
fundamental principles of the various Western schools of philosophical
thought, involves taking a metaphorical death-defying reverse
three-and-a-half somersault leap, entering head first, into the deep
waters of philosophy.
On the first level, even the ordinary reader may accidentally pull a
cerebral muscle but, rest assured, it will do no permanent harm. On the
second level, unless you are mentally prepared and intellectually fit, the
damage may involve psychological distress on a semi-permanent basis.