Description
Book SynopsisThe notions of happiness and trust as cements of the social fabric and political legitimacy have a long history in Western political thought. However, despite the great contemporary relevance of both subjects, and burgeoning literatures in the social sciences around them, historians and historians of thought have, with some exceptions, unduly neglected them. In Trust and Happiness in the History of European Political Thought, editors László Kontler and Mark Somos bring together twenty scholars from different generations and academic traditions to redress this lacuna by contextualising historically the discussion of these two notions from ancient Greece to Soviet Russia. Confronting this legacy and deep reservoir of thought will serve as a tool of optimising the terms of current debates. Contributors are: Erica Benner, Hans W. Blom, Niall Bond, Alberto Clerici, Cesare Cuttica, John Dunn, Ralf-Peter Fuchs, Gábor Gángó, Steven Johnstone, László Kontler, Sara Lagi, Adriana Luna-Fabritius, Adrian O’Connor, Eva Odzuck, Kálmán Pócza, Vladimir Ryzhkov, Peter Schröder, Petra Schulte, Mark Somos, Alexey Tikhomirov, Bee Yun, and Hannes Ziegler.
Trade Review"This pioneering series of papers illuminates the hitherto little explored relationship between trust and happiness through an examination of both theory and practice over many centuries of history. Since both trust and happiness are important and topical subjects, this book will be valuable to social scientists and more generally to readers concerned about where our societies are going nowadays." Geoffrey Hosking, University College London
Table of ContentsPreface 1 Introduction: Trust, Happiness, and the History of European Political Thought László Kontler and Mark Somos Part 1: Trust and Happiness in Theoretical Perspective 2 Toleration, Trust and the Travails of Living Together Globally John Dunn 3 Ptolemy of Lucca’s Distrust in Politics and the Medieval Discourse on Government Bee Yun 4 Natural Suspicion and Reasonable Trust: Machiavelli on Trust in Politics Erica Benner 5 Hugo Grotius on Trust, Its Causes and Effects Hans Blom 6 Fidem Observandam Esse – Trust and Fear in Hobbes and Locke Peter Schröder 7 The Concept of Trust in Hobbes’s Political Philosophy Eva Odzuck 8 The Formation of Leibniz’s Mature Ethics and His Specimen Polonorum Gábor Gángó 9 The Secularization of Happiness in Early Eighteenth-century Italian Political Thought: Revisiting the Foundations of Civil Society Adriana Luna-Fabritius 10 Trust and Happiness in Nikolai Karamzin’s Political Philosophy Vladimir Ryzhkov 11 Trust and Happiness in Ferdinand Tönnies’ Community and Society Niall Bond 12 Distrust in Government: A Comparative Historical Analysis Kálmán Pócza Part 2: Trust as a Function of Political Negotiation 13 Trust, Heresy and Rebellion: Reactions to Machiavelli in the Early Dutch Revolt (1572–1587) Alberto Clerici 14 Privy Council Deliberations on Trust: The Holy Roman Empire around 1600 Hannes Ziegler 15 Trust as a Concept of Religious Plurality during the Thirty Years’ War Ralf-Peter Fuchs 16 ‘No trust, no happiness’! Going beyond Locke in Seventeenth-century England Cesare Cuttica 17 Adolf Fischhof and the National Question in the Habsburg Empire: A Problem of ‘trust’ and ‘collaboration’ amongst the Nationalities of Austria (1869–1885) Sara Lagi Part 3: Trust and the Culture of Political Behaviour 18 Pistis and Citizens in Ancient Greece Steve Johnstone 19 The Concept of Trust in the Political Thought of Fifteenth-century Burgundy Petra Schulte 20 “Through the Bonds of Sentiment”: Fraternité and Politics in Revolutionary France Adrian O’Connor 21 Trust and Distrust in a Modern Dictatorship: A Case Study of the Soviet Union Alexey Tikhomirov Index
