Drawing upon David Hume's observation that, on the one hand people readily submit to authority, while on the other hand, authority depends on their opinion, Keepers of the Common Good examines the intricate interplay between opinion and submission to authority. The author proposes and develops a novel social understanding of constitutional authority and the place of the people. Analysing selected episodes of rebellion throughout history, the book traces the relationship between the people and the officials who govern. From the peasants of Gagliano who rejected the Italian state as illegitimate, to a wealth of rebellions in English history, the book builds on the social foundation earlier eloquently expressed as 'peoples precede nations'. In developing this idea, the author identifies, first, a lower register of constitutional discourse and ideas that emerge naturally within communities, and then, secondly, an upper register that gives meaning and justification to the prevailing constitutional order. By examining both registers, the book reveals their foundations, upon which an illuminating account of social relations between rulers and the ruled, officials, and the people is constructed. The book then identifies three distinct forms of rule: princely rule, people ruling themselves, and rule by representatives. After evaluating each model's explanatory power in explaining how people experience and influence the constitutional field, a fourth model of rule is proposed: the keeper's model. This model is used to explain the place and practice of the people in modern constitutional systems, broadly considered democratic. Although the book is not a study of democracy, a fresh and realistic understanding emerges from the keeper's model of the place of the people within the constitutional field.

Biblical scholars and theologians search for the meaning of the common good for our time.

Nietzsche or Aristotle? Moral subjectivism or moral objectivism? Faced with these stark alternatives, more and more American political theorists and philosophers find themselves in the middle, asserting that moral truth is neither objective fact nor subjective fiction, but a social construction. However understandable, such a compromise is precisely that, a compromising position, Ruth Lessl Shively contends. A powerful critique of this middle position, her book makes a compelling argument for moral realism as the only workable answer to the real dilemmas of political theory and moral life.

Common Good Law is the only book to deal with this neglected area of Scots property law. The second edition includes discussion of the important recent case of Portobello Park Action Group Association and of the changes made by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016.

When Reuben discovers an old pocket watch, he soon realizes it holds an incredible power: it can turn you invisible for fifteen minutes. And the watch's power is even more extraordinary than he knows. Soon, he's on the run from a despot determined to possess it for himself ...