The Political Science Reviewer

Editor's Note

2020-11-09T14:14:41+00:00

Editor's Note, Volume 44.2

Notes on Contributors

2020-11-09T14:14:41+00:00

Notes on contributors (44.2).

A Flawed Moralist?

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Of the two leading philosophical paradigms interpreting Rousseau’s corpus as a whole, only one defends him as a moralistic and constructive author. We offer the first comprehensive and critical introduction to this paradigm, which was first articulated by Ernst Cassirer, but extends far beyond Kantians. We question its firm distinction between a lofty normative philosophy and claims amounting to merely personal deviations. First, we find Rousseau’s theory of natural goodness to be in some ways subversive of his theories of virtue and community, especially regarding foresight, the status of politics, and the commitment to domestic virtue. Second, the autobiographies develop the idea of natural goodness in philosophically substantive ways, and in depicting Jean-Jacques as preeminent in goodness, this two-tiered system of judgment grounds a broad range of self-exculpation. Despite this paradigm’s illumination of what is most elevating in Rousseau, it has not done full justice to his philosophy as a whole.

Tocquevillean Poetics

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While ancient thinkers understood poetry and the arts to be an essential problem of political philosophy, the political importance of poetry generally decreased for many modern philosophers. Among more recent thinkers, however, I argue that Tocqueville revived political reflection on poetry and the importance of poetry for politics. I demonstrate that by redefining poetry in a capacious manner, and in considering equality’s effect on the democratic imagination, Tocqueville foresaw an unfolding development toward—and subsequent clash between—nationalist and humanitarian poetries, or ideals. I then discuss Tocqueville’s caution against unmitigated universalism, or humanitarianism, and some of the instruction provided by his political science, which includes tethering the ideal of universal humanity to the particularity of the nation, and the poetry of the nation to that of humanity, in turn. Tocqueville thus serves as a helpful guide for mitigating today’s “globalist-nationalist” divide.

Introduction: Political Theory and Political Leadership

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Joshua Bowman provides an insightful introduction to our symposium on Leadership in the History of Political Thought.

Thucydides on Innovative Leadership and its Limits

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Of all the vibrant examples of leadership to be discovered in the history of classical Greece, Pericles of Athens promises to be the most illuminating for us. This essay seeks to sharpen our focus on Pericles’ leadership by clarifying his role as an innovator with respect to the Athenian way of life. Drawing on Howard Gardner’s cognitive theory of leadership, I argue that it can be illuminating to view Pericles in terms of his practice of using persuasive storytelling abilities to innovate the narratives that the Athenians told about themselves. With primary focus on Thucydides’ discussion of Pericles in his War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, I show that Pericles’ innovative reforms were grand in scope and include the urbanization and secularization of Athens, as well as the development of Athens as a naval people. Thucydides also shows, however, that for all of his successes, Pericles was unable to invest his innovative reforms with the power to endure. Accordingly, and going well beyond Gardner and his innovative leadership model, I conclude that Thucydides’ history can brightly clarify the limits of innovative leadership that are naturally a function of the overall context in which such a project takes place.

Why Character Matters

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Despite the rich tradition of thought proclaiming the need for virtuous leaders, and the continued, widespread call for character in those who hold political office, both scholars and citizens remain puzzled concerning the precise relation of character to political leadership. Drawing on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, this article argues that prudence is the most important virtue for political leaders and that keystone for understanding all leading character. More specifically, Aristotle’s account of prudence in the Nicomachean Ethics enumerates the three “stages” of prudential action—deliberation, comprehension, and decision—that are the primary channels wherein the moral character of political leaders influences their conduct.

Cicero on Factions, Statesmen, and the Mixed Regime

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Cicero’s De Republica advocates a mixed regime dominated by the aristocracy, yet the dialogue emphasizes the danger that elites pose to a republic. This paradox has led some to argue that Cicero’s preference is simply ideological, while others emphasize the irrationality of the people. In this paper, I show that the aristocratic element is charged with providing the deliberation [consilium] necessary for republics to flourish and so must take precedence in a mixed regime. Although the De Republica does insist that the nature of politics often overcomes reason, I argue it emphasizes the irrational behavior of elites. Cicero proposes two ways of coping with the paradox: Politically, he defends popular checks on elite power, but he also attempts to shape the character of those who hold power by revealing to them the transience of earthly goods and pointing them toward a higher form of glory compatible with the common good.

Myth, Moderate, or Machiavellian?

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The recent firestorm over James Mattis’s resignation as Secretary of Defense revives a historically popular American belief in a distinctive model of democratic statesmanship—the military moderate. Borne out of the national public memory of the paradigmatic first president of the United States, the concept of this model establishes the public desirability of certain characteristics such as military professionalism, non-partisanship, and disdain for politics. These characteristics are particularly in demand under certain national conditions, specifically periods of stabilization and potential single-party domination. By briefly outlining some key ideas associated with the concept of the military moderate statesman, offering a few examples, and overlaying two relevant clarifying concepts from Machiavelli, this essay intends to open a new dialogue about this phenomenon and its place in American political thought.

What Prudence is Allowed to Produce

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The concept of “spirit,” foundational for Montesquieu’s political science, is key to his understanding of the knowledge and prudence of statesmanship. Yet, although the importance of spirit to Montesquieu’s thought is widely acknowledged, the concept rarely receives the extended treatment that it warrants. In this essay, first, I explicate the meaning of spirit in light of Montesquieu’s description of the divided sovereignty of human life, expressed in his observation that “many things govern men.” For Montesquieu, spirit refers to how various factors govern or rule human beings, together forming what we might call the national or civic character, collective consciousness, or social mind of a society. Second, I examine how the concept of spirit is connected to Montesquieu’s understanding of human nature as flexible within limits. Third, I draw out the implications of spirit for the practice of statesmanship.

Hypocrisy and Democratic Leadership in Benjamin Franklin’s Political Thought

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Democratic citizens often relish exposing dishonest politicians, especially those who preach one thing but do another. However, insincere expressions and even hypocrisy can support democratic politics by allowing political actors the flexibility to choose between competing policy goals through bargaining and consensus-building. One of America’s most celebrated authors on effective leadership techniques, Benjamin Franklin, defended the necessity of occasional hypocrisy to good democratic governance. Franklin’s Autobiography provides a guide to the art of influence. He sees a role for the tactful use of hypocrisy and accepts the usefulness of willful slights of truth when used in the service of promoting civic projects. Though the current political era is characterized by political polarization and distrust, Franklin’s approach suggests that hypocrisy can be used as a political tool of democratic leadership to facilitate compromise and bridge ideological divides.

Symposium on Luke Sheahan's Why Associations Matter: The Case for First Amendment Pluralism

2020-11-09T14:14:45+00:00

Author Luke Sheahan takes on three formidable critics of his new book, Why Associations Matter: The Case for First Amendment Pluralism.