Redeeming American Political Thought

From Kirkus Reviews
This posthumous collection of essays doesn't work well as a book but is worth reading anyway. Shklar's (Ordinary Vices, 1984, etc.) untimely death in 1992 left a hole in Harvard's political-science department and a project on American political thought unfinished. Two colleagues attempt to address the latter in this volume by presenting 13 of her essays on the subject, only four of which have previously appeared. While the serious, impressive scholarship characteristic of Shklar's work is evident here, however, the result is more frustrating than illuminating. Writing about American political thought has always been problematic: Without great philosophical works to serve as touchstones, scholars are confronted with a wide variety of source material to blend together into a coherent theory. Shklar quite rightly rejects the traditional oversimplifications of consensualism (Americans are all basically liberals) and exceptionalism (American political experience is unique) that have been used to obscure the richness and diversity of American political thought. Unfortunately, her impressive forays into that richness and diversity--exploring figures from Hamilton to Hawthorne, and topics ranging from friendship to rights--yields no general framework that illuminates the whole. The veins of American intellectual history are mined selectively, at times repetitively, and with large areas left untouched. For example, while the Jefferson-Adams correspondence is indeed one of the great treasures of early American political thought, it's introduced and consulted extensively in several essays, while anything beyond a passing mention of a person or event from the postCivil War period is hard to find. Historical description rather than philosophical generalization was always Shklar's strength, but with the time to shape these essays into a book her efforts would have constituted a much more significant contribution to American political thought. It's tragic that this will not occur. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
Noted political philosopher Judith Shklar declined to write a book about American political thought because, she once claimed, "the subject is too hard." She finally took on this formidable task late in her career, but her untimely death left most of the work unpublished. Now Redeeming American Political Thought makes these essays, some published here for the first time, available to readers.

In these thirteen essays, Shklar explores two themes crucial to discussions of American democracy: first, what she terms the "fundamental social condition" of American life, the tension between expansive political equality and persistent social inequality; and second, "redeeming" American political thought for those who believe it lacks the complexity and depth of the European tradition. She covers issues ranging from the use of history in political discourse to the effect of skepticism on politics and thinkers from Hamilton and Jefferson to Melville. The strength and depth of this collection underscore Shklar's reputation as one of this century's most important liberal scholars.

Judith N. Shklar (1928-1992) was Cowles Professor of Government at Harvard University and the author of nine books in political philosophy.




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When Shklar (government, Harvard U.) died in 1992, she had not yet published nine of these 13 essays. The pieces address selected issues concerning the history of American political theory after 1860. Topics include the uses of history for political discourse, the nature of political friendship, the psychology of leadership, the origins of contemporary social sciences, the character of civic virtue, and the impact of such figures as Jefferson, Hamilton, Hawthorne, Emerson, Tocqueville, and Henry Adams. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.


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