A mainstream approach to the prevailing trends in contemporary political theory is found in Will Kymlicka, Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. (Oxford, 2002). Kymlicka compares recent trends in liberalism, libertarianism, communitarianism and neo-Marxism or analytical Marxism. Kymlicka, however seems unwilling to include a pertinent dicussion of neoliberal and neoconservative derivatives that have held sway in political thought since the 1990s.
His discussion of analytical Marxism also gives disproportionate weight to G.A. Cohen, whose economistic reading of Marx underappreciates Marx's fuller philosophical project, and deemphasizes the importance of Marx's writing on historical materialism. A fuller treatment of Marxism would also give credence to the value of Antonio Gramsci's thought and continuing influence. Gramsci receives no consideration in Kymlicka's text, despite the widespread reading and discussion of his work. See the tab for the webpage on this blog devoted to Alternative Theories and Gramsci.
With these objections notwithstanding, Kymlicka provides a useful summary and analysis of libertarianism and communitarianism. A close reading of these chapters offer insight into how closely related elements of both libertarian and communitarian thought are. Ultimately, the positions of both are suspicious of the national state, but the difference within the two rests on the responsibility or assumed civic duty of the individual or community member.
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