Plato's The Republic would be the place to start, I guess, but really if you're interested in political theory just read up on history and draw your own conclusions.

>>165
You don't think Plato might be a bit too difficult for a high schooler? I mean, it's not the easiest text to read in the world.

In any case, OP I would like to recommend several enlightenment philosophers but I don't think that would be the best idea for someone like you. Instead try to find a book in your local bookstore which describes all political philosophical thought (or at least the most important stuff). That would be much easier to read than directly going to the primary sources.

>>165
thank you
>>168
By all means, please tell me the philosophers you had in mind. I began reading The Republic last night with no problems so far. I've done my fair share of research on the heavy hitters in America. But I will find a book like you mention, that sounds like a good idea as well.

>>169
Oh, I guess I underestimated you if you had no troubles reading Plato.

Here are some more texts from very famous philosophers that you might want to check out (anyone feel free to chip in).

Aristotle: Politics (and also Nichomachean Ethics if you feel like it)
Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan
Niccollo Machiavelli: The Prince
John Locke: Two Treatises of Government
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Social Contract
Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto

Hegel and Kant are also very important but I didn't include them here because they are notoriously difficult to read (though you might find some good secondary literature on them).

There is more of course but I don't really have time right now to give you a more comprehensive list.

>>171
Basically this, if you like Hitler read his autistic Mein Kampf too.

>>171
John Stuart Mill - On Liberty
Thomas Paine - Rights of Man
John Locke - Second Treatise of Government
Jean-Paul Sartre - Being and Nothingness
John Rawls - A Theory of Justice
Robert Nozick - Anarchy, State, and Utopia
Ayn Rand - The Virtue of Selfishness
Ayn Rand - Philosophy: Who Needs it
Chris Matthew Sciabarra - Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical

A lot of Rand, I know, but she's growing in popularity and her critics usually don't understand her (or haven't read her) and her followers (at least within the Ayn Rand Institute) act as if they have a monopoly on interpretating her ideas, so you might as well read her essays. Sciabarra's book is also important as it was what made Rand "accepted" amongst academics, by exploring how her philosophy fits in amongst all the other ideas floating around in the academic world.

Karl Marx: Communist Manifesto
Sun Tzu: Art of War
Machiavelli: The Prince
Eknath Eswarn (Best translation): The Bhagavad Gita
Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf

Why read Mein Kampf? I mean, why read a poorly written half-baked political manifesto?

On the other hand, I have an old copy which I grabbed simply because its an uncommon book and I'm willing to read it if there's a good reason to.

>>186
Mein Kampf being poorly written is a myth, in my opinion. I found it very easy to read and enjoyable; it really humanizes Hitler, not an easy task.

>>185
Mein Kampf?
More like Mein Krampf am I right?

>>199
Well, if anyone were to have an easy time humanizing Hitler, it would be Hitler.

Welcome to the Desert of the Real - Slavoj Zizek

>>199

I agree that it is well written, but i disagree that it manages to humanise hitler. I find it more provides a snapshot of prejudice in the working class around the turn of the century, and slightly humanises theminstead.

But hey, thats just my humble opinion