Aristocratic Liberalism: The Social and Political Thought of Jacob Burckhardt, John Stuart Mill, and Alexis de Tocqueville

237 Pages·1992·14.98 MB·English

by  Alan S. Kahan

ARISTOCRATIC LIBERALISM
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ARISTOCRATIC
LIBERALISM
The Social and Political Thought
of Jacob Burckhardt,
John Stuart Mill,
and Alexis de Tocqueville
Alan S. Kahan
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1992
Oxford University Press
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Copyright © 1992 by Alan S. Kahan
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kahan, Alan S.
Aristocratic liberalism : the social and political thought
of Jacob Burckhardt, John Stuart Mill,
and Alexis de Tocqueviile /
Alan S. Kahan.
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index
ISBN 0-19-507019-4
1. Liberalism- History. 2. Burckhardt. Jacob, 1816 1897 —
Contributions in political science. 3. Mill, John Stuart,
1806-1873 Contributions in political science.
4. Toequcville, Alexis de, 1805-1859—
Contributions in political science. I. Title.
JC571.K32 1992 320.5'12~-dc20 91-26379
135798642
Printed in the United Slates of America
on acid-free paper
Acknowledgments
This book began as a doctoral dissertation at the University of Chicago. Without
the resources of that institution, and the encouragement of my dissertation
committee, Keith Baker, John Boyer, Francois Furet, and Karl Weintraub, it
would never have been completed. And without the continued encouragement
of Keith Baker and Francois Furet, it would probably never have made it over
the hurdles that separate books from dissertations. I benefitted greatly from
the time in France made possible by a Lurcy Fellowship, and from the access
to the Jacob Burckhardt Papers generously given me by the Basel Staatsarchiv
and the Jacob Burckhardt Stiftung. Aristocratic Liberalism has also been helped
immeasurably by the comments of numerous friends, colleagues, and readers
over the years. Above all, however, it has been made possible by the love,
support, and critical reading provided by my wife, Sarah Bentley.
Houston A. S. K.
January 1992
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Contents
Introduction, 3
1. Past and Present: The Eighteenth Century and the
Origins of Modernity, 11
The Revolutionary Present, 11
The Enlightenment: The Origins of the Revolution
and of Modernity, 15
The French Revolution, 20
The Eighteenth Century, the French Revolution, and Modernity, 31
2. The Spirit of the Majority, 34
Contradiction or Coherence? The Aristocratic Liberal
Style of Explanation, 34
The Hegemony of the Middle Class and the Commercial Spirit, 41
Hegemony as Stagnation, 46
Hegemony as Mediocrity, 49
The Rise of the Lower Classes, 54
3. Despotisms: The State and Its Masters, 58
The State, 58
Our Masters: Public Opinion, 65
The Problem of Suffrage, 68
The Hare Plan and the Prussian Constitution, 71
Socialism and the Fear of Socialism, 74
4. Modern Humanism: The Values of Aristocratic Liberalism, 81
Humanism, 81
Modern Humanism and Aristocratic Liberalism, 92
Modern Humanism and the Aristocratic Liberals:
The Values of Aristocratic Liberalism, 98
5. "Working against Time": The Aristocratic Liberal Response to the
Challenge of Modernity, 111
The Political Ideal of Aristocratic Liberalism, 111
Social and Economic Attitudes, 115
viii Contents
Optimism and Pessimism, 119
Education, 125
6. Conclusion: Toward a History of European Liberalism, 1830-1870, 135
Aristocratic Liberalism and the Study of Liberalism, 135
The Boundaries of European Liberalism, 1830-1870, 139
Three Misconceptions about Liberalism, 145
Aristocratic Liberalism in Context, 155
Notes, 167
Selected Bibliography, 207
Index, 215
ARISTOCRATIC LIBERALISM