The task of political theory is to show human beings how they have good reason to act in the historical situation in which they find themselves. The central theme of Interpreting Political Responsibility is the increasingly ineffectual contribution of modern academic study of political theory to carrying out this task.

Human beings today depend more on the ability of a few for prudent and skilful political agency than ever before. There are many reasons for this dependence: the nuclear capability of the great world powers, the financial systems of the major capitalist states, the massive trade flows which affect virtually every modern population, the ecological effects of human production. This book presents the first coherent attempt to relate these factors systematically to one another, and considers the lack of progress in reconceiving contemporary political agency in the light of their cumulative presence.