The Greek Tradition in Republican Thought

A substantial revision of standard narratives of the trajectory of republican political theory.

Eric Nelson (Author)

9780521835459, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 February 2004

320 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.6 cm, 0.65 kg

'… the book has much to commend it. Nelson has written a work that provides a fresh perspective on early modern republican political theory was firmly rooted in central texts of Greek moral and political philosophy has great merit, as long as we keep firmly in mind that this tradition seems to reflect early modern republicans; apparent interpretations of ancient Greek texts … Nelson's book also allows us to consider what he would call 'Greek' elements, which may have had a positive impact on the thought of the American founders … His book provides a fine elucidation of the idea of a 'balance of justice' and egalitarian principles in the distribution of wealth and property in society, which we find in the 'Greek tradition' … Nelson's study should prove to be of enduring value for our understanding of the republican tradition.' Polis

The Greek Tradition in Republic Thought completely rewrites the standard history of republican political theory. It excavates an identifiably Greek strain of republican thought which attaches little importance to freedom as non-dependence and sees no intrinsic value in political participation. This tradition's central preoccupations are not honour and glory, but happiness (eudaimonia) and justice - defined, in Plato's terms, as the rule of the best men. This set of commitments yields as startling readiness to advocate the corrective redistribution of wealth, and even the outright abolition of private property. The Greek tradition was revived in England during the early sixteenth century and was broadly influential throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Its exponents included Sir Thomas More, James Harrington, Montesquieu and Thomas Jefferson, and it contributed significantly to the ideological underpinnings of the American Founding as well as the English Civil Wars.

Acknowledgements
Note on conventions
Introduction
1. Greek nonsense in More's Utopia
2. The Roman agrarian laws and Machiavelli's modi privati
3. James Harrington and the 'balance of justice'
4. 'Prolem cum matre creatam': the background to Montesquieu
5. Montesquieu's Greek republics
6. The Greek tradition and the American Founding
Coda: Tocqueville and the Greeks
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], History of ideas [JFCX], Western philosophy: Medieval & Renaissance, c 500 to c 1600 [HPCB], History of the Americas [HBJK], European history [HBJD]