Modern Liberty and Its Discontents

by Manent, Pierre; Mahoney, Daniel J.; Seaton, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780847690879
• ISBN10: 0847690873
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-08-06
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

In this book, distinguished French philosopher Pierre Manent addresses a wide range of subjects, including the Machiavellian origins of modernity, Tocqueville's analysis of democracy, the political role of Christianity, the nature of totalitarianism, and the future of the nation-state. As a whole, the book constitutes a meditation on the nature of modern freedom and the permanent discontents which accompany it. Modern Liberty and its Discontents is both an important contribution to an understanding of modern society, and a significant contribution to political philosophy in its own right.

Table of Contents

Modern Liberty and Its Discontents: An Introduction to the Political Reflection of Pierre Manent	1	(30)
Daniel J. Mahoney
Part One: Reflections on an Intellectual Itinerary	31	(14)
The Truth, Perhaps	33	(12)
Part Two: Essays in the History of Political Philosophy	45	(34)
Toward the Work and Toward the World: Claude Lefort's Machiavelli	47	(18)
Democratic Man, Aristocratic Man, and Man Simply: Some Remarks on an Equivocation in Tocqueville's Thought	65	(14)
Part Three: Christianity and Politics	79	(38)
Charles Peguy: Between Political Faith and Faith	81	(16)
Christianity and Democracy: Some Remarks on the Political History of Religion, or, on the Religious History of Modern Politics	97	(20)
Part Four: Understanding Totalitarianism	117	(32)
Totalitarianism and the Problem of Political Representation	119	(16)
Aurel Kolnai: A Political Philosopher Confronts the Scourge of Our Epoch	135	(14)
Part Five: Democratic Individualism	149	(18)
On Modern Individualism	151	(10)
Recovering Human Attachments: An Introduction to Allan Bloom's Love and Friendship	161	(6)
Part Six: Thinking and Acting Politically	167	(30)
Raymond Aron and the Analysis of Modern Society	169	(4)
De Gaulle as Hero	173	(12)
Democracy without Nations?	185	(12)
Part Seven: Reflections on Strauss, Nature, and History	197	(18)
Strauss and Nietzsche	199	(10)
On Historical Causality	209	(6)
Part Eight: Liberalism and Conservatism Today	215	(16)
Liberalism and Conservatism: The Transatlantic Misunderstanding	217	(14)
Index	231	(8)
About the Authors	239