Bernard Williams is regarded as one of the most brilliant and original philosophers of the last half-century. He is primarily recognized as a moral philosopher and an expert on antiquity. In addition to his erudition and the gift of clear expression, he possesses wit and perspective. He began systematically writing about political philosophy in the 1980s. Besides scholarly articles and lectures, he also published more popular texts and addressed practical issues of public life. The presented collection of texts concerns central themes of political philosophy: justice, freedom and equality, the nature and significance of liberalism, tolerance, power and the fear of it, democracy, and the very nature of political philosophy. Originality, deep insight, sharpness, and cleverness resonate here as in all of Williams's texts. Williams combines the conviction that moral judgments belong in politics with the need to stay grounded and start from the real world of politics. At the same time, while addressing traditional problems of political philosophy, he does not forget the most intimate issues of human life.
