Republicanism - Theory In Depth
THEORY IN DEPTH
The Essentials of Republicanism
The political theory of republicanism holds that the best government involves citizens, rather than subjects, where citizens share in directing their own affairs. It was first developed and expounded in ancient Greece, most completely by Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) in his work, the Politics. Niccolò Machiavelli (1469– 1527), who criticized and self–consciously broke with the old republican tradition, founded a new, modern republicanism. This new republicanism, modified and made more receptive to individual freedom by Machiavelli's successors, found enduring expression in the Federalist Papers. Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804), John Jay (1745–1829), and James Madison (1751– 1836) wrote this collection of essays in 1787–1788 to defend the proposed Constitution of the United States. Modern republicanism has pervaded the United States and Western Europe, and is...
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