Description
Book SynopsisBy rethinking the intellectual and historical foundations of modern accounts of freedom, the author shows how this major vision of liberty developed between the seventeenth and the nineteenth centuries.
Trade Review"In the face of these obstacles, Kelly not only constructs a synthetic counter-narrative, he does so while embedding each writer in an almost unmanageably large body of current secondary scholarship and within the entire history of political thought. The result is an admirable demonstration of the power of intellectual history in the service of political theory... Finally, this fine work makes the larger argument that political theory must incorporate all three of its 'languages'--philosophy, history and theology--into the moral psychology of freedom."--Eldon J. Eisenach, History of Political Thought Journal "The Propriety of Liberty is a signal achievement in clarifying the contours of modern political and moral thinking about individual freedom and responsible agency in society."--Hussein Banai, Political Studies Review "This is a challenging but also deeply rewarding book. Kelly's command of the literature, the intelligence of his argument, and the level of detail that he offers are truly impressive. The book overflows with interesting insights."--Helena Rosenblatt, Journal of Modern History
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ix Abbreviations xiii Introduction: The Propriety of Liberty 1 The Self at Liberty 6 Liberty and Political Theory 9 Structure 12 Chapter One: "That glorious fabrick of liberty": John Locke, the Propriety of Liberty and the Quality of Responsible Agency 20 Propriety, Prudence and Interpretation 21 John Locke and Pierre Nicole: Language, Prudence and the Propriety of the Passions 24 Liberty and the Will 41 Persons, Passions and Judgement 46 Liberty and Personal Identity 53 Chapter Two: Passionate Liberty and Commercial Selfhood: Montesquieu's Political Theory of Moderation 59 Justice 61 Lessons in Classics: Politics, Friendship and Despotism 68 The Passions of the Soul and the Actions of the Machine 82 Moderation and Soulcraft: The Action of Passionate Selfhood 88 Legislative Passions and Civil Religion 94 Commercial Society and Political Liberty 105 Chapter Three:"The True Propriety of Language": Persuasive Mediocrity, Imaginative Delusion and Adam Smith's Political Theory 117 Persuasive Agency 119 Sympathy and Propriety 128 A Passion for Justice: Smith's Political Theory 141 The Origins of Government and the Paradoxes of Political Liberty 159 Conclusions 167 Chapter Four: Taking Things as They Are: John Stuart Mill on the Judgement of Character and the Cultivation of Civilization 173 Liberty by Example 175 Greek Legacies 186 Civilization, Civility, Cooperation 194 Excursus: Republicanism, Radicalism and Representation 204 The Politics of Civilization 210 Propriety in Time 218 Chapter Five: Idealism and the Historical Judgement of Freedom: T. H. Green and the Legacy of the English Revolution 223 Character and Action 226 Reformation and Revolution 234 Enthusiasm and Reform 241 Real Freedom 244 Political Theology 249 The Revolutionary Inheritance 255 Chapter Six: Coda: Liberty as Propriety 259 Problems of Self-Ownership 261 Responsible Agency 269 State Propriety 273 Bibliography 277 Index 341
