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Politics in Commercial Society
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith
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Edited by:
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2015
About this book
Scholars normally emphasize the contrast between the two great eighteenth-century thinkers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith. Rousseau is seen as a critic of modernity; Smith as an apologist. However, Istvan Hont finds significant commonalities in their work, arguing that both were theorists of commercial society but from different perspectives.
Author / Editor information
Hont Istvan :
Istvan Hont was a Reader in the History of Political Thought at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King’s College.Kapossy Béla :
Béla Kapossy is Professor in Modern History at the University of Lausanne.Sonenscher Michael :
Michael Sonenscher is a Fellow of King's College, University of Cambridge.
Reviews
Istvan Hont [was] a terrifically gifted historian of political and economic thought… Politics in Commercial Society…outlines in capsule form his reconstruction of [Rousseau and Adam Smith], showing not only what they have in common but also how little modern political theory has advanced beyond their concerns… Eighteenth-century political theory, as Hont’s iconoclastic work shows, still has much to teach us.
-- Duncan Kelly Financial Times
-- Duncan Kelly Financial Times
David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Adam Smith probed deeply into the moral and political dimensions of what has come to be known as capitalism. Istvan Hont’s beautifully executed lectures reaffirm why it is worthwhile to know and interpret Enlightenment thought and, in particular, grapple with the timeless question of the trade-off between economic growth and political stability.
-- Margaret Schabas, University of British Columbia
-- Margaret Schabas, University of British Columbia
In exploring Smith’s and Rousseau’s thought to find lines of influence and points of agreement, Hont hopes to correct what he believes to be misinterpretations of these two thinkers. He certainly succeeds in forcing readers to rethink the relations between Smith and Rousseau and in deepening understanding of them.
-- J. H. Spence Choice
-- J. H. Spence Choice
Hont’s lectures are exhilarating, and contain a quite extraordinary density of argument and reference. Hont was convinced that the eighteenth-century thinkers had exhausted the possibilities available to us for understanding modernity, and the deep seriousness with which he approached the subject comes through on every page.
-- Richard Tuck Times Literary Supplement
-- Richard Tuck Times Literary Supplement
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Frontmatter
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Contents
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Acknowledgments
vii -
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Editors’ Introduction
ix -
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A Note on the Text
xxi -
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1 Commercial Sociability: The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Problem
1 -
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2 Commercial Sociability: The Adam Smith Problem
25 -
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3 Histories of Government: Which Comes First, Judges or the Law?
48 -
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4 Histories of Government: Republics, Inequality, and Revolution?
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5 Political Economy: Markets, Households, and Invisible Hands
89 -
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6 Political Economy: Nationalism, Emulation, and War
111 -
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Index
133
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
June 9, 2015
eBook ISBN:
9780674286177
Edition:
Pilot project. eBook available to selected US libraries only
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
144
eBook ISBN:
9780674286177
Audience(s) for this book
General/trade;College/higher education;Professional and scholarly;
