ABSTRACT
Students of politics may be forgiven for suspecting that "controversies" presented for their inspection are less controversial than may initially appear, and it usually turns out that the compiler of such controversies holds decided views as to which side has the best of the argument. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents the question of whether or not it is advantageous to do serious political thinking in terms of power. In order to make good its claim to an important place in our political thinking, a theory of power would have to answer at least three questions: What is power? What true statements can we make about power and how can we know that they are true? What are the consequences of our knowledge of power to thought and action? The book considers what is involved in answering each of these questions.
