Political Science at the London School of Economics
Robert S. Taylor
Political Science
Robert S. Taylor is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Davis. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2002. He specializes in contemporary analytic political philosophy and the history of liberal political thought. He has written numerous articles on Kant, Mill, Rawls, autonomy, self-ownership, and commercial republicanism as well as two books: Reconstructing Rawls: The Kantian Foundations of Justice as Fairness (Penn State University Press, 2011) and Exit Left: Markets and Mobility in Republican Thought (Oxford University Press, 2017).
A Message to Students and Parents
I have long had an interest in the history of English political thought, including that of the 17th century. The writings of Thomas Hobbes and especially John Locke have had a tremendous influence on our own politics, and I find that by studying them I gain a greater understanding of ideologies like absolutism and liberalism and concepts such as liberty, equality, and property—ideologies and concepts that are still common currency in the political debates of our own time. 17th century England was ablaze with political conflict and rebellion, and I am excited by the prospect of taking students to visit historical sites in and near London associated with the English Civil Wars and the Glorious Revolution, as well as introducing them to the key texts and ideas associated with these events."