This article recovers a largely forgotten and quite surprising argument about the origins of political liberty in Britain: that the Norman Conquest, by making possible an extremely powerful absolute ...monarchy, paradoxically set in motion the historical process which would later lead to the emergence of limited constitutional monarchy. The article shows how the eighteenth-century writer Jean Louis de Lolme initially made this argument to explain the divergent constitutional orders of Britain and France. De Lolme's hypothesis was then taken up by numerous historians and political theorists. François Guizot and his fellow Doctrinaires, Alexis de Tocqueville, and John Stuart Mill were among the writers who further developed his historical explanation of the British constitution. The liberal philosophy of history in the nineteenth century sprang from De Lolme's account of how absolute monarchy leads paradoxically to constitutional liberty.
Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America can be read as an extended anthropological comparison of hierarchical and egalitarian societies ('aristocracies' and 'democracies,' in his terms). In its ...use of comparative method, it is strikingly modern, almost post-modern: secular social science. And yet, for Tocqueville, divine knowledge provided another comparative perspective. In this essay, I explore the implications of Tocqueville's consideration of divine order for his work as a seemingly secular comparative anthropologist. I argue that one of the foundational concepts of secular social science, 'society,' may not be universally applicable since, as Tocqueville's work suggests, it is ill-suited for the study of people who thought of their world as a divine, not a social, order.
Tocqueville and the Ostroms Wilford, Sarah J.
History of the human sciences,
07/2023, Letnik:
36, Številka:
3-4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Although it is commonplace for political scientists to draw upon historical thinkers and the ‘great books’ of the past, the practice of using historical works as reference points for contemporary ...issues remains under-investigated. To address this practice, this article is positioned at the crossroads of social science and intellectual history. By examining the relationship of political economists Elinor and Vincent Ostrom with Alexis de Tocqueville, the article demonstrates some of the potential risks incurred by social scientists drawing on historical thinkers. After exploring the similarities between the Ostroms and Tocqueville, it identifies three key pitfalls of the Ostroms’ ‘Tocquevillian’ rhetoric. These pitfalls result in obscuring meaning and overlooking philosophical insights, both of which detract from the Ostroms’ project. Insights from the field of intellectual history are offered. A final section presents a key example of Vincent Ostrom overlooking Tocqueville's thought where Tocqueville's insights were directly applicable to his work. The article parses political science's relationship with the past and offers a critique that is applicable beyond Tocqueville and the Ostroms.
L’article, concentré sur l’ouvrage « De la démocratie en Amérique» d’Alexis de Tocqueville, se consacre à présenter l’essentiel de sa démonstration qui, à partir de son observation de l’organisation ...politique et sociale des Etats Unis, dresse un diagnostic: l’irrésistibilité de l’avènement de la démocratie et de l’égalité en établissant un bilan des avantages et des risques de cette promotion, puis présente les remèdes à apporter pour que les menaces ne se réalisent pas et que coexistent harmonieusement égalité et liberté.
Antonio Rosmini and Alexis de Tocqueville contributed, on the horizon of nineteenth-century political thought, to the configuration of a new model of political philosophy that we believe still ...retains insights of great relevance today. This article takes as its purpose to describe the ideal dialogue between the two authors in such a way as to let emerge what we may call a third way that arose before the social problems of political discussion in the 1800s, that is, a third way between the earlier solutions of Catholic restoration on the one hand and the French revolutionary spirit on the other. The ideal path arose from the rediscovery of a common anthropology from which a definition of society founded from the end that most distinguishes it, the good of the individual, would be arrived at. The urgency and topicality of the themes that permeate the writings of Rosmini and Tocqueville we believe lie in the highlighting of dangers and distortions, which dominate our societies today, but which our authors were able to identify in the bud, as they were being formed in 19th century Western society.
Antonio Rosmini e Alexis de Tocqueville hanno contribuito, nell’orizzonte del pensiero politico del XIX secolo, alla configurazione di un nuovo modello di filosofia politica che crediamo conservi ancora oggi spunti di grande attualità. Il presente articolo assume come scopo quello di descrivere il dialogo ideale tra i due autori in modo da lasciar emergere quella che possiamo definire una terza via sorta davanti ai problemi sociali della discussione politica dell’ottocento , ossia una terza via tra le precedenti soluzioni della restaurazione cattolica da una parte e lo spirito rivoluzionario francese dall’altra. Il cammino ideale nasce dal rinvenimento di una comune antropologia dalla quale si giungerà a una definizione della società fondata a partire dal fine che maggiormente la contraddistingue, il bene del singolo. L’urgenza e attualità dei temi che permeano gli scritti di Rosmini e Tocqueville crediamo risieda nella messa in evidenza di pericoli e storture, che oggi dominano le nostre società, ma che i nostri autori sono stati in grado di individuare sul nascere, così come si stavano formando nella società occidentale del XIX secolo.
Resumen En el origen del Estado argentino el liberalismo resultó asociado al unitarismo, quedando el federalismo asociado a cierto tradicionalismo. Esto constituye una paradoja, ya que, según puede ...constatarse por liberales clásicos tales como Constant o Tocqueville, uno de los principios fundamentales de cualquier organización política acorde con la libertad, es la descentralización federal. En el presente trabajo nos proponemos, en primer lugar, establecer la existencia del paradójico hecho nacional recién aludido. En segundo lugar, determinar el significado de la relación entre liberalismo y federalismo en los autores europeos mencionados (donde la propuesta del primero sirve en cierta forma de base para la del segundo). Y en tercer y último término, dar cuenta de la peculiar posición de Alberdi al respecto, quien fuera influenciado de forma más o menos directa por aquel liberalismo europeo.
Liberalismo y Federalismo Argüello, Santiago; Cavallo, Yanela
Revista de historia americana y argentina,
10/2020, Letnik:
55, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
One of the strongest paradoxes of the historico-ideological rise of Argentine State is the fact of having associated ‘Liberalism’ with ‘Unitarism’, and ‘Federalism’ with ‘Traditionalism’. As is seen ...through classical liberal authors such as Constant or Tocqueville, the paradox lies in that one of the main principles of any political community in agreement with freedom is federal decentralization. The aim of the present article is, in the first place, faced with that before-mentioned national paradox. Secondly, to define the meaning of the relationship between Liberalism and Federalism in the European authors above named. And in the third place, to give an account of Alberdi’s stance regarding that relationship, which in some ways has been made under the influence of that European Liberalism.
En el origen del Estado argentino el liberalismo resultó asociado al unitarismo, quedando el federalismo asociado a cierto tradicionalismo. Esto constituye una paradoja, ya que, según puede constatarse por liberales clásicos tales como Constant o Tocqueville, uno de los principios fundamentales de cualquier organización política acorde con la libertad, es la descentralización federal. En el presente trabajo nos proponemos, en primer lugar, establecer la existencia del paradójico hecho nacional recién aludido. En segundo lugar, determinar el significado de la relación entre liberalismo y federalismo en los autores europeos mencionados (donde la propuesta del primero sirve en cierta forma de base para la del segundo). Y en tercer y último término, dar cuenta de la peculiar posición de Alberdi al respecto, quien fuera influenciado de forma más o menos directa por aquel liberalismo europeo.
The Making of Modern Liberalismis a deep and wide-ranging exploration of the origins and nature of liberalism from the Enlightenment through its triumphs and setbacks in the twentieth century and ...beyond. The book is the fruit of the more than four decades during which Alan Ryan, one of the world's leading political thinkers, has reflected on the past of the liberal tradition--and worried about its future.
Tracing the emergence of liberalism as articulated by some of its greatest proponents, including Locke, Tocqueville, Mill, Dewey, Russell, Popper, Berlin, and Rawls, the book explores key themes such as the meaning and nature of freedom, individual rights, and tolerance. It also examines how property rights fit within liberal thinking, how work and freedom are connected, and how far liberal freedoms are compatible with a socialized economy.
This is essential reading for anyone interested in political theory or the history of liberalism.
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