History & Surveys

European radical political thought—represented by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, and Michel Foucault—has deeply impacted the Western intellectual tradition and political life. These thinkers sought to transform Western societies by critiquing institutions that they felt led to oppression of groups. They saw societies and institutions as part of a history that constantly develops and has no objective, timeless purpose, or principles. They understood the history of things people do, and of events that happen, in a primarily evolutionary way. As a result, these radical political thinkers have often been thought to have a strong historical consciousness.