The history of political thought is the history of how diffe... - Quentin Skinner

"The history of political thought is the history of how different communities have attempted to justify their arrangements and imagine alternatives."

Quentin Skinner Politics

Historian Philosopher British Born 1940 (age 86)

More from Quentin Skinner

"The past is not dead; it is not even past."

"Ideas have consequences, and the historian's task is to trace them."

"We must understand the languages in which the past speaks to us."

"The study of history is the study of human possibility."

"Fear drives civilization. Without it, there is only chaos."

"Order through chaos. That's the only real answer."

"Politics and power corrupt when they're separated from purpose."

"The system isn't broken—it was built this way. We have to rebuild it."