Introduction: What is Social Thought?
1.
What is the history of social thought?
2.
Methods of the History of Social Thought
3.
The context of 'era' and 'ideology'
4.
Basic Problems of Social Thought: The Relationship Between "Freedom" and "Public"

Chapter 1: Machiavelli's Social Thought

1.
The Context of "Era": The Resurgence of the Market Economy and the Emergence of the Modern State
2.
The Context of 'Thought': Humanism in the Italian Renaissance
3.
Machiavelli's 'Problem'
4.
The Prince's view of humanity
5.
The Republic Theory in the Discourses on Roman History
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Machiavelli

Chapter 2: Social Thought of the Reformation

1.
The Context of 'Era': The Emergence of the Modern State and the Development of the Market Economy
2.
The Context of 'Thought': From the Renaissance to the Reformation
3.
The 'problem' of Reformation thought
4.
Luther's doctrine of justification by faith and the priesthood of all believers
5.
Calvin's doctrine of predestination and the spirit of capitalism
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Reformation Thought

Chapter 3: The Development of the Classical 'Social Contract' Idea

1.
The Context of the 'Era': The Beginning of the International Commercial War
2.
The Context of 'Thought': From Scientific Revolution to Natural Law
3.
The 'problem' of social contract theory
4.
Hobbes's mechanistic view of humanity and the theory of absolute sovereignty
5.
Locke's rational view of man and political society
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in the Social Contract Theory

Chapter 4: The Development of Enlightenment Thought and the Theory of Civilized Society

1.
The Context of 'Era': The Development of Civilized Society
2.
The Context of 'Thought': France and Scotland
3.
The 'problem' of the Enlightenment
4.
The Civilization of the French Enlightenment: From Voltaire to Physiocratism
5.
The Civilization of the Scottish Enlightenment: Hutcheson and Hume
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in the Enlightenment

Chapter 5: Rousseau's Critique of Civilization and the Theory of Popular Sovereignty

1.
The Context of 'The Era': The Crisis of Civilization
2.
The Context of 'Thought': From Enlightenment to Criticism of Civilization
3.
Rousseau's 'Problem'
4.
The General Will and Popular Sovereignty in The Social Contract
5.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Rousseau

Chapter 6: The Establishment of Economics under Smith

1.
The Context of 'The Era': Beyond the Crisis of Civilization
2.
The Context of 'Thought': From Enlightenment to Social Science
3.
Smith's 'Problem'
4.
Empathy and Moral Order in The Theory of Moral Sentiments
5.
Division of Labor, Market, and Wealth in The Wealth of Nations
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Smith

Chapter 7: The Social Thought of 'Philosophical Radicalism': From Conservatism to Reform

1.
The Context of 'Era': The Beginning of a Dual Revolution
2.
The Context of 'Thought': Burke and Malthus
3.
The 'problem' of philosophical radicalism
4.
Utilitarianism: Bentham and James Mill
5.
Classical Economic Thought: Ricardo's Principles of Economics
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Philosophical Radicalism

Chapter 8: Criticism and Succession of Modern Liberalism: "Freedom" in Developing Countries

1.
The Context of 'The Era': The Light and Shadow of the Dual Revolution
2.
The Context of 'Thought': The Discovery of the Self in Kant, Fichte, and Romanticism
3.
Hegel's 'Problem'
4.
Hegel's theory of science and civil society
5.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Hegel

Chapter 9: Marx's Critique of Capitalism

1.
The Context of 'The Era': The Crisis of Capitalism
2.
The Context of 'Thought': Socialism Before Marx
3.
Marx's 'problem'
4.
Critique of Philosophy: From Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts to The German Ideology
5.
Critique of Capitalism in Capital
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Marx

Chapter 10 J.
Reconstruction of Civilized Society from S. Mill

1.
The Context of 'The Era': The Transformation of Capitalism and the Progress of Democracy
2.
The Context of 'Thought': Rethinking Philosophical Radicalism
3.
The 'problem' of wheat
4.
Innovation in philosophy and morality
5.
The possibility of socialism
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Mill

Chapter 11: The Crisis of Western Civilization and Weber

1.
The Context of 'The Era': Imperialism and Mass Society
2.
The Context of 'Thought': Various Currents of Positivism
3.
Weber's 'problem'
4.
"Science as a Vocation" and the Origins of Modern Rationalism
5.
Politics as a Vocation and the Fate of Democracy
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Weber

Chapter 12: Social Thought in Criticism of 'Totalitarianism': The Frankfurt School, Keynes, and Hayek

1.
The context of 'the era': World War II, the Russian Revolution, and the Great Depression
2.
The Context of 'Thought': Various Aspects of Criticism of Totalitarianism
3.
The 'problem' of criticizing totalitarianism
4.
Criticism of Capitalist Civilization in Dialectics of Enlightenment
5.
Two types of liberalism in Keynes and Hayek
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Criticism of Totalitarianism

Chapter 13: Various Currents of Modern Liberalism

1.
The Context of 'The Era': The Rise and Collapse of the Socialist System
2.
The Context of "Thought": "The End of History" or "The Clash of Civilizations"?
3.
The 'problem' of modern liberalism
4.
Habermas and Rawls
5.
Justice as Fairness in Rolls
6.
'Freedom' and 'Public' in Modern Liberalism

Chapter 1: What Can We Learn from the History of Social Thought?
1.
Question from the method
2.
The possibility of modern 'freedom' and 'publicness'

Afterword | Translator's Note | References
Chronology of Major Works | Index of Biography | Index of Details

The fundamental question of this book lies in accepting the stark reality that various forms of capitalism exist as the only social and economic system compatible with individual freedom and the guarantee of basic human rights, and in learning about their structural contradictions and flaws from the history of social thought.
_In "Review"

A history of grappling with issues concerning the state and the market

In the introduction, the author explains what ‘society’ is, starting from the category of concepts.
The society referred to in this book is essentially modern society, specifically the European society that began with the Renaissance and the Reformation, and the North American continental society that was established as an extension of that.
Even if it is Europe, it does not include ancient and medieval societies, and it does not include Asia or Africa.
The unique meaning of 'society' in this book refers to a society with a 'rational state' that takes the 'rule of law' as its principle, and a society with the 'market' as its economic foundation.
Therefore, even if ancient Athens or the polis were highly developed, they cannot be considered societies because they were political and religious communities, not rule of law or pure markets.


Even if we limit the subject of this book to modern society, it has a history of nearly 500 years.
The very concept of 'society' has undergone changes in its specific content in accordance with the changes in modern European society, and the history of 'social thought' refers to attempts to intrinsically trace these historical changes.
(…) In fact, the thinkers who appear in this book all recognize that modern society is the emergence of a new order unprecedented in human history, with a rational state and a market economy as its two pillars, and at the same time, they each wrestled with the fundamental question of how individual “freedom” and “public” can coexist in modern society from their own perspectives.
The theme of this book is to trace how this common problem, raised and explored by thinkers in various ideological contexts, is raised, addressed, and inherited in each era and region.
_「Introduction: What is Social Thought」

We examine the perspectives on humanity, society, and history that form the basis of the context advocated by major thinkers.

There are many different approaches to studying the history of social thought in modern Europe, but they can be broadly categorized into economic, philosophical and ethical, and legal and political approaches. This book is closer to the economic approach.
However, this does not mean that it deals with the history of economics.
In order to deeply understand Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations', who is called the 'father of economics', it is necessary to understand the social ideological elements.
The author judged Smith's concept of 'exchange tendency', which is the ability of humans to use reason and language to persuade others, to be a social and ideological awareness of human nature and economic activity.


It is argued that what fundamentally unifies Smith's thought, which has many facets, including that of a political scientist and a jurist, is moral philosophy, and that moral philosophy is indisputably a field of social thought, and that economics arose from Smith's social thought, not vice versa.
The author deals with Smith's philosophy, politics, and law, but assumes an economics based on social thought in order to understand the social elements of the time.
This attitude of the author is evident throughout the description of the thinkers covered in this book.
Therefore, rather than examining the academic disciplines or systems advocated by these thinkers, this book simultaneously examines each thinker's views on humanity, society, and history, thereby allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of where their arguments originated, where they are headed, and what they are advocating.

Social thought is an academic discipline that reveals to the public the human, social, and historical views that underpin economics, but are hidden and invisible in a complete economic system, and examines them as its central theme.
_「Introduction: What is Social Thought」

Careful consideration for readers, including a chronology and bibliography

The author has provided a chronology and bibliography at the end of this book for the benefit of readers.
The chronology of works goes beyond the limitations of understanding each chapter in the text, allowing one to see at a glance the chronological and causal relationships and influences between major works in the history of social thought along with major world historical events.
In particular, the bibliography is divided into primary and secondary literature for each chapter, and books that the author considers to be masterpieces are marked with an asterisk.
Korean readers of this book will feel a deep sense of envy for Japan's intellectual tradition and academia. In the "Afterword," he writes, "I wanted to convey to readers the fact that so many literature on social thought, including translations, have been published in Japanese.


I myself have had some discoveries and surprises while compiling this list.
The author is proud of his country's abundant prior literature, and at the same time, he also suggests a future reading path for readers who have read this book with interest, saying, "I am worried that readers might get lost, but more than that, I hope that readers will visit libraries on their own, read countless books that are not easily available in bookstores, and savor the true flavor of social history and develop their own interests in issues."
This also shows how faithfully and conscientiously this book was written, based on the records of numerous previous researchers.


Although it has a somewhat strong character as a history of ideas defending civilized societies centered on the English-speaking world, it will be sufficient to provide a glimpse into the major theories of social thought spanning 500 years.
_From the translator's note