Download or read book The Terms of Political Discourse written by William E. Connolly and published by . This book was released on 1983 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: William Connolly presents a lucid and concise defense of the thesis of "essentially contested concepts" that can well be read as a general introduction to political theory, as well as for its challenge to the prevailing understanding of political discourse. In Connolly's view, the language of politics is not a neutral medium that conveys ideas independently formed but an institutionalized structure of meanings that channels political thought and action in certain directions. In the new preface he pursues the implications of this perspective for a distinctive conception of ethics and democracy.