Alasdair Cochrane introduces the most prominent schools in contemporary political theory – utilitarianism, liberalism, communitarianism, Marxism and feminism – and examines their implications for issues such as meat-eating, intensive agriculture, animal experimentation, religious slaughter and hunting.
An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory explores the debates and discusses controversies over what makes an entity worthy of justice: is it rationality, the ability to contribute to society, sentience, or something else? It also introduces and engages with debates about what our political obligations to animals might entail: is it simply not to cause them unnecessary suffering, or do we have much more demanding obligations not to kill, own, or even use non-human animals?
Â