Aristocratic Voices
eBook - PDF

Aristocratic Voices

Forgotten Arguments about Virtue, Authority, and Inequality

  1. 423 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Aristocratic Voices

Forgotten Arguments about Virtue, Authority, and Inequality

About this book

In the 21st century, political debates appear to center on fundamental conflicts between "the people" and "elites." Most of these discussions emphasize strategies to protect and empower the oppressed masses against a predatory ruling class. Much of classical political thought, however, was written from an aristocratic point of view: that is, it ascribed paramount importance to the question of elite formation. Assuming inequality as a permanent feature of human associations, what virtues would elites need to have, what institutions and traditions would cultivate the best qualities in members of the ruling class, and curb their extravagances. Aristocratic Voices: Forgotten Arguments about Virtue, Authority, and Inequality consists of essays by political theorists who explore these questions in the works of aristocratic thinkers, both ancient and modern. The volume includes analyses of aristocratic virtues, interpretations of aristocratic assemblies and constitutions, both historic and contemporary, as well as critiques of liberal virtues and institutions. Essays on Plutarch, Nicholas of Cusa, Marsilius of Padua, Sir Thomas Elyot, John Henry Newman, Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl, Henry Adams, Friedrich Nietzsche, Irving Babbitt, Oswald Spengler, Julius Evola, and Robert Nisbet explore ways of preserving and adapting the valuable aspects of the aristocratic ethos to the needs of modern societies.

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Yes, you can access Aristocratic Voices by Richard Avramenko,Ethan Alexander-Davey in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & World History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Half Title
  2. Series Page
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Contents
  6. Introduction
  7. Part I: Ancient and Medieval Aristocratic Voices
  8. Chapter 1: Aristocrat as Citizen: Plutarch’s Spartan, Rousseau’s General Will, and Tocqueville’s Americans
  9. Chapter 2: Representation and the Aristocratic Ethos: Two Late Medieval Theories
  10. Chapter 3: Consent of the Governed, Natural Law, and Religious Toleration in the Pre-Liberal Tradition
  11. Chapter 4: Thomas Elyot and Self-Government—Why the Rulers of Realms Must Also Rule Themselves
  12. Part II: Modern Aristocratic Voices
  13. Chapter 5: Vico and the Origin of Political Order
  14. Chapter 6: Newman’s Fearful Gentleman: Discourse Eight of The Idea of a University
  15. Chapter 7: W. H. Riehl’s Cure for Modernity: A Defense of National, Regional, and Social Differentiation
  16. Chapter 8: Henry Adams: An Aristocrat Out of Time
  17. Chapter 9: Against the Tarantulas: Nietzsche on Aristocracy
  18. Chapter 10: Irving Babbitt on Democracy and Leadership
  19. Chapter 11: Oswald Spengler, Aristocratic Virtues, Democracy, and the Decline and Death of the West
  20. Chapter 12: Evola’s Critique of Machiavellianism
  21. Chapter 13: Authority, Hierarchy, and the Social Bond in the Aristocratic Mind of Robert Nisbet
  22. Index
  23. About the Authors