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This course explores the themes of politics in the Western tradition of philosophy. We will analyze the difference between ancient and modern political thought, and the tension between freedom and authority in modernity. We will study the birth of rights in the social contract tradition, and study the limits of rights. We will study the thinkers of the French and American revolutions. In the end, students will have a better understanding of what catch-words like democracy, liberalism, and conservativism mean in the history of political thought.