Classical republicanism

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Contents 1 Notes 2 References 3 External links

Classical republicanism is a form of republicanism originating from and inspired by the governmental forms and writings of classical antiquity. After a gaping centuries-long period of neglect due to unique arrangements of medieval feudalism, its main ideas were recovered and went on to flourish during the Renaissance and Enlightenment. In the classical itself the term republicanism did not exist, however the term res publica, which translates literally as "things public," was in usage. There were a number of theorists who wrote on political philosophy during this period such as Aristotle, Polybius, and Cicero,^[1] and their ideas became the essential core of classical republicanism. The ideology of republicanism blossomed during the Italian Renaissance, most notably in Florence, when a number of authors looked back to the classical period and used its examples to formulate ideas about ideal governance. Most prominent among these was Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527).^[2] It has also been said that Machiavelli is not a classical republican describing rather medieval political relations.^[3] That classical republicanism actually refers to a philosophy developed primarily in the early modern period is acknowledged by many scholars to be confusing; hence some now use the term early modern republicanism to cover this branch of political thought.

Classical republicanism is also known as civic humanism, a term first employed by the German scholar of late medieval and early modern Italian history, Hans Baron.^[4] And although in certain cases and with certain scholars there is a subtle distinction between the two, they are for all intents and purposes interchangeable. Civic humanism is a bit wider in scope and stresses the central role of civic virtue in the preservation of the classically Roman/Florentine ideal of political liberty. Leading exponents of this dual concept are Hannah Arendt, J. G. A. Pocock, Quentin Skinner, and Philip Pettit.^[5]

While modern republicanism rejected monarchy (whether hereditary or otherwise autocratic) in favour of rule by the people, classical republicanism treated monarchy as one form of government among others. Classical republicanism was rather aimed against any form of tyranny, whether monarchic, aristocratic, or democratic (tyranny of the majority). The notions of what constituted an ideal republic to classical republicans themselves depended on personal view. However, the most ideal republic featured form of mixed government and was based on the pursuit of civility.

Most controversial is the classical republican view of liberty and how, or if, this view differed from that later developed by liberalism. Traditionally many scholarships accepted stance of Isaiah Berlin that republicanism was tilted more towards positive liberty rather than the negative liberty characterizing liberalism.^[6] In recent years this thesis has been challenged and Philip Pettit argues that republican liberty is based upon "non-domination" while liberal freedom is based upon "non-interference." Another view is that liberalism views liberty as pre-social while classical republicans saw true liberty as a product of society. Because liberty was important part of republican thought many republican thinkers were appropriated by theory of classical liberalism.

According to Baron, for many years the foremost expert on the development of classical republicanism, the ideology was a product of the long conflict between Florence and Milan.^[7] Florence was ruled by its commercial elites while Milan was a monarchy controlled by its landed aristocracy. The Florentines asserted that their form of government was superior on the basis that it was more similar to that of the Greeks and the Roman Republic. Moreover, Leonardo Bruni (1370-1444) asserted, based on Tacitus's pronouncements in the introduction to the Histories, that republican government made better men, whereas monarchy was inimical to human virtue (see Tacitean studies). The Florentine ideal developed into the ideology of civic humanism, as per Baron.^[8]

Classical republicanism became extremely popular in the Enlightenment (or classicism) playing a central role in the thought of political philosophy since Hobbes, through John Locke, Giambattista Vico, Montesquieu, Rousseau, until Kant. It was also basis for the work of Founding Fathers of the United States, and as such, was and remains the enduring basis of its national and state governments.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Civic Humanism entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Athanasios Moulakis
• Bill Brugger, Republican Theory in Political Thought: Virtuous or Virtual? (Basingstoke: St. Martin's Press, 1999).
• Zera Fink, The Classical Republicans: an Essay in the Recovery of a Pattern of Thought in Seventeenth-Century England. (Evanston: Northwestern Univ. Press, 1962).

[edit] External links

• Cicero's influence on Classical Republicanism