The crisis faced by liberal democracies over the past several years shows that, not only do leaders matter, but their character matters when it comes to promoting the common good. The crisis has sharpened to the point whereby widespread doubts concerning the ability of liberal democracies to produce virtuous leaders, rather than technocrats, experts, or oligarchs. This makes it necessary to consider long neglected aristocratic voices for understanding the true meaning of “rule of the best,” and how it contributes to the good regime. Richard Avramenko and Ethan Alexander-Davey have convened a council of notables to stand upon the shoulders of ancient and modern giants of political thought, and to explore this important question of our time.

John von Heyking, University of Lethbridge

Aristocratic Voices: Forgotten Arguments about Virtue, Authority, and Inequality is a welcome antidote to the democratic excesses experienced today as manifested in political populism, mob rule, and a public rejection of expertise. In this collection of essays, we see the relevance of current and classical republican thought as articulated in the works of Aristotle, Plutarch, Nicholas of Cusa, Marsilius of Padua, Francisco Suarez, Giambattista Vico, Rousseau, Tocqueville, Mill, Henry Adams, Nietzsche, Irving Babbit, Robert Nisbet, and others. What this volume presents is the need for an engagement of aristocratic ideas to stimulate healthy discussion and debate in a democratic society, even if these elite ideas are ultimately discarded. Both timely and enduring, Aristocratic Voices: Forgotten Arguments about Virtue, Authority, and Inequality provides a pathway towards a vigorous and robust regime where both elites and the populace can rule together.

Lee Trepanier, Assumption University

The thirteen essays in this sequel to Aristocratic Souls in Democratic Times constitute detailed meditations on Aristotle’s timeless observation, that human beings are equal in some respects and unequal in others. In a context provided by thinkers for whom democracy is an alternative regime not the very definition of a just one, the contributors range widely over Western political thought and philosophy, often engaging with (perhaps unjustly) neglected authors to establish the continued legitimacy of aristocratic political thinking in today’s democratic and not-so-democratic world.

Barry Cooper, University of Calgary