'TRADITIONS' AS CONTEXT IN THE HISTORY OF POLITICAL THEORY

Abstract An adequate methodology in the history of political theory is dependent on a adequate philosophy of history. Firstly, in the course of a critical consideration of other writers on methodology (principally W. G. Greenleaf and Q. Skinner) it is suggested that 'intellectual traditions', of two sorts, might provide an appropriate unit of context. Secondly, a broadly anti-naturalist philosophy of history is adopted, which makes use of Collingwood and Hegel, and it is argued that intellectual traditions are compatible with this view of historical knowledge. It is concluded that the opposition between the universalist text-orientated approach and the particularist historical approach to the study of the history of political theory is a false dichotomy. We can learn from past ideas as a traditional inheritance.     

科学总结历史经验播洒社会主义真理--《社会主义历史、理论与现实》评介

靳辉明同志主编的《社会主义历史、理论与现实》（安徽人民出版社 ２０００年９月出版），是一批马克思主义学者刻苦钻研、潜心研究、勤奋耕耘，为完成国家社科基金资助的一项重点课题而形成的最终成果。我衷心祝贺这项重点课题的完成和这部４０余万字的专著的出版。 这部著作贯穿着一条红线：科学地对待社会主义。它以坚定的信念、明确的立场、鲜明的观点、清醒的思考，从理论与实际结合的高度，比较全面、系统、科学地论述了科学社会主义理论的创立和发展、２０世纪社会主义伟大实践的胜利与曲折、当前世界社会主义运动的现状、发展趋势与…     

VIEWPOINT: EXPANDING THE HIGH FRONTIER: SPACE WEAPONS IN HISTORY

A hot topic within national security policy circles involves space weaponization. Concerns about a future arms race, cost, operational capability, and other problems appear to be new. However, past space weaponization efforts have addressed these same issues. Current policy makers can look to World War II German experiments, the Soviet Union's co-orbital anti-satellite system, and the United States' X-20 Dyna-Soar proposals to explore these same challenges. A look to the past might help policy makers to consider many of these same questions that past governments have wrestled with in any attempt to gain an operational status for a proposed space weapon.     

NATURAL HAZARD LOSSES IN THE UNITED STATES: A PUBLIC PROBLEM

Using arisk analysis and evaluation approach, the authors estimate losses from nine major natural hazards in the United States. The data show that these probable losses exceed those of many other national social problems, including fire and crime. The article also examines geographic and social distributions of estimated losses. States in the upper quartile of hazard exposure are likely to account for 50 percent of the increase in dollar losses over the next 30 years. Consistent with prior research, the most dependent segments of the population (poor, elderly, non-white) will proportionately suffer the most. While policy options pose inherently difficult choices, many promising avenues have yet to be fully explored.     

THE HISTORY OF LOCAL POLITICAL POWER—SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS

Abstract This paper represents an attempt to analyse certain aspects of the work on 'community power' within a historical context. It begins with a critical review of those writers whose work has included a historical dimension, particularly R. A. Dahl. It is argued that generalizations about the location of power in the past need to go beyond the mere analysis of the background of office-holders, and the consequent search for a socio-economic 'élite'. Indeed, such generalizations need to be tested quite as rigorously as any that are made about the present. On the basis of research done on Salford, an attempt is made to suggest a framework for the comparative analysis of the political context within which nineteenth-century urban municipal leaders operated, and by which their power was conditioned.