Political philosophy
![Plato (left) and Aristotle (right), from a detail of The School of Athens, a fresco by Raphael. Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics secured the two Greek philosophers as two of the most influential political philosophers.](/Images/godic/202502/02/Sanzio_01_Plato_Aristotle3207.jpg")
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![Augustine of HippoThomas Aquinas](/Images/godic/202502/02/Simone_Martini_0033208.jpg")
![](/Images/godic/202502/02/Polittico_del_1476,_s._tommaso_d'aquino3208.jpg")
Political philosophy, or political theory, is the study of topics such as politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why (or even if) they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should take and why, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown, if ever.