III Political Thought and Theory / Théorie et Pensée Politiques
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00208345231169348 |
| Published date | 01 April 2023 |
| Date | 01 April 2023 |
217
III
POLITICAL THOUGHT AND THEORY
THÉORIE ET PENSÉE POLITIQUES
73.1823 AHMED, Amel — What can we learn from history?: com-
peting approaches to historical methodology and the We-
berian alternative of reflexive understanding. Polity 54(4),
Oct. 2022 : 734-763.
The lack of engagement with historical methodologies has led to a narrow-
ing of the space for historical inquiry, as scholars are often presented with
a binary choice between realist and poststructuralist approaches, with the
question of objectivity serving as the intractable divide. To the extent that
scholars have carved out a middle ground, it has rested on contextualist
approaches, though these too have been vulnerable to the critique of ob-
jectivity. I articulate the principles of a fourth position, rooted in the meth-
odology of Max Weber and the idea of reflexive verstehen (understand-
ing), a mode of investigation which seeks an empathetic understanding of
historical subjectivities while foregrounding the researcher’s subjective ori-
entation to the inquiry. The Weberian alternative, I argue, offers the possi-
bility of historical understanding that is rooted in subjective understanding.
[R, abr.]
73.1824 ALESSIATO, Elena — On political mythology during the
first world war: what had Fichte (allegedly) to say? History
of Political Thought 43(4), Nov. 2022 : 787-808.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Germany witnessed a particu-
larly strong 'Fichte revival'. This paper analyses the phenomenon and ar-
gues that it stemmed from a selective and functional interpretation of some
of Fichte's political accounts. Some of his issues, in particular those ex-
pressed in the Addresses to the German nation, were judged suitable to
fulfil the cultural and political expectations raised by the First World War.
The paper focuses on two of the issues which helped the transformation
of Fichte into a national German myth: his theories about the language
and the past. Identifying the elements with which twentieth-century nation-
alist interpreters were able to build the image of Fichte as the founder of
the German nation shows how representative the case of Fichte is for the
interconnection of politics, political mythology and philosophical interpre-
tation. [R, abr.]
73.1825 ALEXANDER, Rachel K. — Religious statesmanship as
medicine for the soul. Perspectives on Political Science
51(4), 2022 : 179-181.
Herold’s rich treatment of Tocqueville reminds us of the powerful and in-
delible spiritual longings of the human soul, and the need for a statesman-
ship akin to Tocqueville’s own that understands both the nature of the soul
and the character of the regime. In short, Herold’s Tocqueville helps us
moderate our hopes for American liberal democracy without despairing
that nothing can be done. [R] [See Abstr. 73.1878]
73.1826 BALLINGALL, Robert A. — The rule of law and the imitation
of god in Plato’s Laws. Perspectives on Political Science
51(4), 2022 : 190-200.
Scholars interested in the characterology presupposed by constitutional
government have occasionally turned to Plato’s Laws, one of the earliest
and most penetrating treatments of the subject. Even so, interpreters have
neglected a vital tension that the Laws presents as coeval with lawfulness
itself. Through a close reading of the dialogue’s opening passages, I argue
that the rule of law for Plato is implicated in a certain paradox: it both pro-
hibits and requires the imitation of god. Law cannot safely originate with
human beings; yet human beings must involve themselves nonetheless in
laying law down. Trustworthy lawgivers must revere the gods while at the
same time emulating them, must somehow make law themselves while
regarding that very task as beyond their ken. [R, abr.]
73.1827 BAUMGOLD, Deborah — Hobbes and Grotius: The Ele-
ments of Law and De Jure Belli Ac Pacis. History of Political
Thought 43(4), Nov. 2022 : 693-713.
The title of Hobbes's first political treatise, The Elements of Law, N atural
and Politic recalls Grotius' masterwork, De Jure Belli ac Pacis. While af-
finities between their ideas have been noted by scholars, this article goes
further by investigating evidence of contact between them and specifically
comparing the Elements' treatment of law with Grotius'. Evidence of Gro-
tian influence contradicts the common view that Hobbes conceived politi-
cal theory in the frame of the plan for a tripartite 'Elements of Philosophy'.
When, subsequently, he adapted the material into that frame, the
reworking was facilitated by the naturalistic approach which he shared with
Grotius. [R]
73.1828 BEHNEGAR, Nasser, et al. — From Laslett to Waldmann:
the case for reconsidering Strauss on Locke. Review of
Politics 84(4), Fall 2022 : 570-591.
The denial of Locke's debt to Hobbes has long been characteristic of many
scholars of Locke influenced by the Cambridge School. Peter Laslett was
the first to argue for this view, and he did so in conscious opposition to Leo
Strauss and his interpretation of Locke. The recent discovery by Felix
Waldmann of a memoir that confirms Locke's deep interest in Hobbes as
well as his prudent concealment of that interest has undermined Laslett's
case against Strauss. Waldmann's discovery, moreover, comes in the
wake of other historical work, by Jeffrey Collins and others, that has pro-
vided further grounds for abandoning the Cambridge view of Locke. These
developments have yet to lead to a serious reengagement with Strauss's
interpretation of Locke, but they should, because his controversial claim
about Locke's debt to Hobbes has been vindicated. [R]
73.1829 BELLAMY FOSTER, John — The return of the dialectics of
nature: the struggle for freedom as necessity. Historic al
Materialism 30(2), 2022 : 3-28.
The resurrection of the classical Marxian ecological critique in the context
of the current planetary emergency has led to the return of the concept of
the dialectics of nature, associated with the work of Frederick Engels in
particular. In the century following the deaths of Charles Darwin and Karl
Marx, the dialectics-of-nature conception played a formative role in the de-
velopment of the modern ecological critique within science, notably in Brit-
ain, and helped inspire the contemporary environmentalist movement.
Nevertheless, all of this occurred outside the dominant streams of Marxian
thought and practice, where a great chasm had arisen in this area.
Whereas official Marxism in the Soviet Union reduced the dialectics of na-
ture to a fixed dogma, Western Marxism rejected it altogether. [R, abr.]
73.1830 BONAZZI, Mauro — Political, all too political. Again on Pro-
tagoras’ myth in Its intellectual context. Polis (Journal of
Ancient Greek Political Thought) 39(3), 2022 : 425-445.
The paper argues for an analytic interpretation of Protagoras’ myth in
Plato’s dialogue by showing that its goal is not so much to reconstruct the
origins of civilization as to identify some essential features of humankind.
Against the widespread opinion that human progress depends on the de-
velopment of technai, Protagoras claims that political art is the most im-
portant one, insofar as it is the condition for the existence of society. More
concretely, the emphasis on the political art also serves to bring light to
what is distinctive of Protagoras as opposed to the other sophists and po-
ets. As clearly shown in the dialogue, Protagoras can thus present himself
as the only teacher who is capable of imparting the teachings suited to the
needs of the new world of the polis. [R]
73.1831 BOWRING, Bill — Spinoza, Marx, and Ilyenkov (who did not
know Marx’s transcription of Spinoza). Studies in East Eu-
ropean Thought 74(3), Sept. 2022 : 297-317.
I start with Marx's transc riptions of Spinoza, and the deep significance of
what he transcribed, from the Theologico-Political Treatise and the Corre-
spondence, and in what order. I contend that this demonstrates what was
of particular interest and importance to him at that time. Second, I examine
the presence, even if not explicit, of Spinoza in Marx's works, and turn to
the question whether Marx was a Spinozist. I think he was. Third, I turn to
Ilyenkov and his engagement with Spinoza, and fourth, to Ilyenkov's place
in the Marxist tradition of Spinozism. Fifth and sixth, I present an analysis
of Ilyenkov's instrumental deployment of Spinoza first in his Dialectical
Logic and then in his The Dialectic of the Abstract and the Concrete in
Marx's Capital. [R]
73.1832 BRENNAN, Timothy — Teaching by contradictions: Mon-
tesquieu's subversion of piety in The Spirit of the Laws.
Review of Politics 84(4), Fall 2022 : 520-544.
Building on studies by Thomas L. Pangle and Robert C. Bartlett, this article
contends that Montesquieu's rhetorical moderation with respect to religion
in The Spirit of the Laws serves a substantively radical project, that is, the
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