Flattery and the History of Political Thought
That Glib and Oily Art

Demonstrates flattery's importance for political theory, addressing representation, republicanism, and rhetoric through classical, early modern, and eighteenth-century thought.

Daniel J. Kapust (Author)

9781107043367, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 January 2018

238 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.8 cm, 0.45 kg

'At a moment when democracies are struggling mightily with questions of leadership, trust, and demagoguery, Kapust's Flattery and the History of Political Thought offers an impressive theoretical and historical account. Kapust carefully disentangles the power relations surrounding different forms of the phenomenon and highlights the critical importance of context when it comes to passing judgment on that 'glib and oily art'. Moreover, his work offers richly detailed insights into multiple historical periods, from ancient Rome to Renaissance Europe to eighteenth-century England and the US. In doing so, he has produced a work that will speak to anyone interested in the relationship between speech and political power, whether from a historical perspective or at this very moment.' Elizabeth Markovits, Mount Holyoke College, and author of The Politics of Sincerity

Flattery is an often overlooked political phenomenon, even though it has interested thinkers from classical Athens to eighteenth-century America. Drawing a distinction between moralistic and strategic flattery, this book offers new interpretations of a range of texts from the history of political thought. Discussing Cicero, Pliny, Castiglione, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Mandeville, Smith, and the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debates, the book engages and enriches contemporary political theory debates about rhetoric, republicanism, and democratic theory, among other topics. Flattery and the History of Political Thought shows both the historical importance and continued relevance of flattery for political theory. Additionally, the study is interdisciplinary in both subject and approach, engaging classics, literature, rhetoric, and history scholarship; it aims to bring a range of disciplines into conversation with each other as it explores a neglected - and yet important - topic.

Introduction
1. 'Suffer no man to be king': friendship, liberty, and status in Roman political thought
2. Without 'superfluous ornament': Castiglione, Machiavelli, and the performance of counsel
3. 'The Monarch's plague': the problem of flattery and Hobbes's contingently unitary sovereign
4. 'The bewitching engine': Mandeville and Smith on flattery, praise, and the origins of language
5. 'Flattering to young ambitious minds': representing America in the ratification
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], History of ideas [JFCX]