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Democracy and the History of Political Thought

Patrick N. Cain (Anthology Editor) , Stephen Patrick Sims (Anthology Editor) , Stephen A. Block (Anthology Editor) , J. David Alvis (Contributor) , Timothy Burns (Contributor) , Mark Blitz (Contributor) ,
View more contributors
Online resources available
Democracy and the History of Political Thought cover

Democracy and the History of Political Thought

Patrick N. Cain (Anthology Editor) , Stephen Patrick Sims (Anthology Editor) , Stephen A. Block (Anthology Editor) , J. David Alvis (Contributor) , Timothy Burns (Contributor) , Mark Blitz (Contributor) ,
View more contributors
Online resources available

Description

This volume provides a fresh perspective on current democratic theory and practice by recovering the rich evaluations of democracy in the history of political thought. Each author addresses a single thinker’s reflections on the virtues and defects of democracy and the relationship between democracy and other regimes. Together, these essays explore the tensions within the democratic way of life that arise from an attachment to equality, liberty, citizenship, law, and the divine. Above all, this work aims at recovering a more complex understanding of democracy, connecting the perennial questions of political philosophy to the perplexities and crises of modern democracy.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Politics of Democracy by Stephen A. Block, Patrick N. Cain, and Stephen Patrick Sims
Chapter 1: To Bear the Blame for All Time: The Role of Judah in the Joseph Story by J. David Alvis
Chapter 2: Of Power, Worthiness, and Equality: Homeric Melancholia and Democratic Theory by Arlene W. Saxonhouse
Chapter 3: Equality of Speech: Athenian Democracy in the Histories of Herodotus by Ann Ward
Chapter 4: Democracy and Demagogy in Thucydides by Steven Forde
Chapter 5: Plato's Democratic Moment by Mary P. Nichols
Chapter 6: Aristotle on Statesmanship, Freedom, and the Spirit of Democracy by Stephen A. Block
Chapter 7: Cicero's Populism by Stephen Patrick Sims
Chapter 8: Reflections on Augustine and Democracy by Douglas Kries
Chapter 9: Democracy in Muslim Spain: Averroes's Domestic Account of Popular Rule by Alexander Orwin
Chapter 10: Thomas Aquinas on Democracy and the Best Regime by Patrick N. Cain
Chapter 11: Machiavelli on the Possibilities and Problems of Democratic Politics by Cather

Product details

Published Jun 23 2021
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 432
ISBN 9781793621603
Imprint Lexington Books
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

PC
Anthology Editor

Patrick N. Cain

SS
Anthology Editor

Stephen Patrick Sims

SB
Anthology Editor

Stephen A. Block

JA
Contributor

J. David Alvis

TB
Contributor

Timothy Burns

MB
Contributor

Mark Blitz

SB
Contributor

Stephen A. Block

DB
Contributor

Daniel E. Burns

PC
Contributor

Patrick N. Cain

AC
Contributor

Adam M. Carrington

DC
Contributor

David Clinton

SF
Contributor

Steven Forde

JF
Contributor

Jerome C. Foss

DK
Contributor

Douglas Kries

SM
Contributor

Sara MacDonald

WM
Contributor

William Mathie

DN
Contributor

David K. Nichols

MN
Contributor

Mary P. Nichols

AO
Contributor

Alexander Orwin

AS
Contributor

Arlene W. Saxonhouse

DS
Contributor

Denise Schaeffer

SS
Contributor

Susan Meld Shell

SS
Contributor

Sean D. Sutton

AW
Contributor

Ann Ward

LW
Contributor

Lee Ward

CZ
Contributor

Catherine H. Zuckert

Reviews

  • “Democracy and the History of Political Thought is a rich and extensive survey of the greats in the history of political thought on the topic of democracy. Offered as rival to the placid complacency of today’s ‘democratic theory,’ the chapters—written to honor Mary and David Nichols—convey serious authority and uncover old truths and hidden depths.”

    Harvey C. Mansfield, Harvard University

  • The authors of this volume have endeavored to show their authors and texts as friends and friendly to democracy. This is not a superficial friendship but like that of Solzhenitsyn who declared himself a friend of the West in his Harvard address. A friend speaks plainly, honoring the other with honesty, offering critiques because of belief in the other’s ability and willingness to respond to reasoned comments from a concerned friend.... In their essays to this excellent work, the authors prove themselves friends to democracy and to their readers, contributors to “the most important task."

    VoegelinView

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