Rationalism in Politics, first published in 1962, has established the late Michael Oakeshott as the leading conservative political theorist in modern Britain. This expanded collection of essays astutely points out the limits of "reason" in rationalist politics. Oakeshott criticizes ideological schemes to reform society according to supposedly "scientific" or rationalistic principles that ignore the wealth and variety of human experience. "Rationalism in politics," says Oakeshott, "involves a misconception with regard to the nature of human knowledge." History has shown that it produces unexpected, often disastrous results. "Having cut himself off from the traditional knowledge of his society, and denied the value of any education more extensive than a training in a technique of analysis," the Rationalist succeeds only in undermining the institutions that hold civilized society together. In this regard, rationalism in politics is "a corruption of the mind."

邁剋爾・歐剋肖特（1901-1990）1901年12月11日齣生在英國肯特郡的切爾斯費爾德。1920-1923年在劍橋大學學習，並參加瞭劍橋大學的榮譽學位考試。1923-1926年他拿瞭英國大學畢業生奬學金去德國圖賓根大學和馬堡大學學習。

他是20世紀英國最重的政治哲學傢和世界最重要的政治哲學傢之一，也是有史以來英國最重要的政治哲學傢之一。

譯者張汝倫簡介：1953年生，1987年畢業於復旦大學哲學係，獲哲學學士學位，現在復旦大學哲學係任教。