Customer Rating:  
Summary: There's no escape from hypocrisy!
Comment: This book by David Runciman covers the philosophical thinking about political hypocrisy, both British and American, from the 1600s to the modern day. He refers extensively to the thinking of Hobbes, de Mandeville, Bentham, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Orwell, and such like. Essentially he concludes that for a democracy to work the leaders have to be hypocrites in one way or another, and if you want to cut to the chase for current examples go straight to the final chapter with references to Blair and Bush. In fact reading this chapter alone, which is easy to follow, will allow you to understand his argument without having to read the historical perspective which for the lay reader is a bit laboured and not easy to digest.
Alternatively wait for a soft-back edition or get it from your library.
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