This book addresses a central theme in social and political theory: what is the motivation behind the theory of ideology, and can such a theory be defended? The theory of ideology, Rosen argues, is a distinctively modern answer to one of the oldest questions of political thought: why do the many allow themselves to be ruled by the few?
Rosen clarifies the assumptions behind the theory of ideology through new interpretations of Rousseau, Smith, Herder, Hegel, Marx, Adorno and Benjamin, amongst others, and shows how those assumptions came to be taken for granted. The author's argument is critical but constructive. The assumptions behind the theory of ideology may make it untenable, he argues, but the task of developing an account of political false consciousness remains a central one for social and political thought.

This is a book that is challenging and rigorous, but one that is written with exemplary clarity and accessibility. It is bound to stimulate wide-ranging debate and will become required reading for students in philosophy, social and political theory, and the history of political thought.