First published in 1976. This study continues an endeavour whose aim was to use traditional concepts as a basis for the discussion of contemporary political predicaments. The endeavour began with the publication of the symposium In Defense of Sovereignty (1969). Its long-range goal is to consider under a common denominator?relativism in politics? various aspects of theory such as the basic concepts discussed in the present essay, together with more modern theories of democracy and the wider spectrum of political ideologies.