Examines theories of social change, social institutions, and major contemporary political theories. Asks general questions, such as what constitutes a good state, what actions are right or wrong, and explores differing answers to those questions. Contrasts Immanuel Kant’s view that actions are intrinsically moral to John Stuart Mill’s theory that the end result determines the rightness or wrongness of an act. Includes material from social theorists such as Paley, Nietzsche, B. F. Skinner, and Ayer.