Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewRita Koganzon has composed an incisive work of political and educational philosophy in Liberal States, Authoritarian Families: Childhood and Education in the Early Modern Age. She elucidates the thought of intellectual and cultural giants like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau with singular clarity, challenging the conventional readings of their work while also raising important implications to consider for contemporary education. Anyone wishing to engage with these authors and think carefully about the bearing of our cultural moment on education will benefit from Koganzon's exposition. She has done an invaluable service for us all. * Albert Cheng, Journal of School Choice *
...powerful... * Blake Smith, Washington Examiner *
Liberal States, Authoritarian Families is a scholarly book, and...a powerful indictment of progressive educational theory. * Elliot Kaufman, The Wall Street Journal *
'You're not the boss of me!' With admirable clarity and judiciousness, Rita Koganzon addresses the uneasy tension between liberty and authority in contemporary liberalism revealed by the question of whether children are—or should be—free. Looking back to earlier thinkers who wrestled with the vexed relationship between authority and liberty, Koganzon finds resources for thinking through the questions we still face today concerning how to educate children to become free citizens. * John T. Scott, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Davis *
In this elegantly written and lucidly argued book, Rita Koganzon reexamines the place of the family in early modern thought. Against those who see parental authority as antithetical to liberty, she explores the arguments of Locke and Rousseau to show that authority within the family may well be the best available barrier against slavish conformism fostered either by a dominating state or by mere fashion and unreflective opinion. * Christopher Kelly, Boston College, co-editor of The Collected Writings of Rousseau *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction The Rise of Sovereignty and the Logic of Congruence Hobbesian Sovereignty and the Denaturalization of Authority Locke and the Authority of Opinion Locke's Authoritarian Education Rousseau and the Authority of Opinion Rousseau's Authoritarian Education Conclusion Notes References Index
