Yet the modern view of Hobbes and the
other theorists of sovereignty is paradoxical.
On the one hand many contemporary political
theorists side with Harrington in rejecting
Hobbes’ view of sovereignty as simply a
legitimation of untrammelled personal rule,
or else as a transference of sovereignty from
the people to the blank visage of the impersonal
state (e.g. Skinner, 1989). On the other
hand, modern scholars are surprisingly willing
to take Hobbes’ own polemical depiction
of the gulf between ancient and early
modern political cultures as if it were a
simple statement of fact. Following Hobbes,
they characteristically equate the classical
‘republics’ with formal doctrines of popular
sovereignty expressed through a unified
‘popular will’ (e.g. Skinner, 1998: 24–36).
At the same time, they tend to take on trust
the claims of Hobbes and others that classical
political thought is defined by its exaltation
of the figure of the active, independent
citizen. Thus the classical ‘art of politics’ is
depicted as founded on a universal figure of
the ‘political man’, a creature in whom is
vested the power of politics and rhetoric,
and even the capacity to assume the city’s
‘point of view’ (e.g. Viroli, 1992: 71–125,
289).3 I want to suggest in what follows that
these presumptions seriously underestimate
the complexity of ancient civic thought, and
of its various early modern uses and abuses.
GREEKS AND ROMANS
One source of the prevalent modern confu
Yet the modern view of Hobbes and theother theorists of sovereignty is paradoxical.On the one hand many contemporary politicaltheorists side with Harrington in rejectingHobbes’ view of sovereignty as simply alegitimation of untrammelled personal rule,or else as a transference of sovereignty fromthe people to the blank visage of the impersonalstate (e.g. Skinner, 1989). On the otherhand, modern scholars are surprisingly willingto take Hobbes’ own polemical depictionof the gulf between ancient and earlymodern political cultures as if it were asimple statement of fact. Following Hobbes,they characteristically equate the classical‘republics’ with formal doctrines of popularsovereignty expressed through a unified‘popular will’ (e.g. Skinner, 1998: 24–36).At the same time, they tend to take on trustthe claims of Hobbes and others that classicalpolitical thought is defined by its exaltationof the figure of the active, independentcitizen. Thus the classical ‘art of politics’ isdepicted as founded on a universal figure ofthe ‘political man’, a creature in whom isvested the power of politics and rhetoric,and even the capacity to assume the city’s‘point of view’ (e.g. Viroli, 1992: 71–125,289).3 I want to suggest in what follows thatthese presumptions seriously underestimatethe complexity of ancient civic thought, andof its various early modern uses and abuses.GREEKS AND ROMANSOne source of the prevalent modern confu
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
