ENGLISH

French Political Thought from Montesquieu to Tocqueville: Liberty in a Levelled Society? (Ideas in Context)

By Annelien de Dijn

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2008
ISBN
0521877881, 9780521877886, 9780511388880
Open Library ID
OL10438236M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
978 kB (1001516 bytes)
Series
Ideas in Context
Pages
231\231
Scanned
yes
Time added
2010-08-30 15:18:36

Description

This study makes a major contribution to our understanding of one of the most important and enduring strands of modern political thought. Annelien de Dijn argues that Montesquieu's aristocratic liberalism - his conviction that the preservation of freedom in a monarchy required the existence of an aristocratic 'corps intermédiaire' - had a continued impact on post-revolutionary France. Revisionist historians from Furet to Rosanvallon have emphasised the impact of revolutionary republicanism on post-revolutionary France, with its monist conception of politics and its focus on popular sovereignty. Dr de Dijn, however, highlights the persistence of a pluralist liberalism that was rooted in the Old Regime, and which saw democracy and equality as inherent threats to liberty. She thus provides a new context in which to read the work of Alexis de Tocqueville, who is revealed as the heir not just of Restoration liberals, but also of the Royalists and their hero, Montesquieu.

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