Larry Siedentop

This ambitious and stimulating book describes how a moral revolution in the first centuries AD - the discovery of human freedom and its universal potential - led to a social revolution in the west. The invention of a new, equal social role, the individual, gradually displaced the claims of family, tribe and caste as the basis of social organisation. Larry Siedentop asks us to rethink the evolution of the ideas on which modern societies and government are built, and argues that the core of what is now our system of beliefs emerged much earlier than we think. The roots of liberalism - belief in individual liberty, in the fundamental moral equality of individuals, that equality should be the basis of a legal system and that only a representative form of government is fitting for such a society - all these, Siedentop argues, were pioneered by Christian thinkers of the Middle Ages, who drew on the moral revolution carried out by the early church. It was the arguments of canon lawyers, theologians and philosophers from the eleventh to the fourteenth century, rather than the Renaissance, that laid the foundation for liberal democracy. There are large parts of the world where other beliefs flourish - fundamentalist Islam, which denies the equality of women and is often ambiguous about individual rights and representative institutions; quasi-capitalist China, where a form of utilitarianism enshrines state interests even at the expense of justice and liberty. Such beliefs may foster populist forms of democracy. But they are not liberal. In the face of these challenges, Siedentop urges that understanding the origins of our own liberal ideas is more than ever an important part of knowing who we are. 'A most impressive work of philosophical history.' Robert Skidelsky 'This is a strange and disturbing moment in Western history. Europeans - out of touch with the roots of their tradition - often seem to lack conviction, while Americans may be succumbing to a dangerously simplistic version of their faith. On neither side of the Atlantic is there an adequate understanding of the relationship between liberal secularism and Christianity. Failure to understand that relationship makes it easier to underestimate the moral content of liberal secularism. If we in the West do not understand the moral depth of our own tradition, how can we hope to shape the coversation of mankind?' from the Epilogue 'Inventing the Individual opens up a new and original approach to the Middle Ages and redresses in a much needed way a balance between them and the Renaissance. It has coherence and intellectual drive in rare degree. It also comments incisively on our present time. It ought to come to be considered an important book.' Henry Mayr-Harting

The Origins of Western Liberalism

Inventing the Individual

توکویل

Here, in a grand narrative spanning 1,800 years of European history, a distinguished political philosopher firmly rejects Western liberalism’s usual account of itself: its emergence in opposition to religion in the early modern era. Larry Siedentop argues instead that liberal thought is, in its underlying assumptions, the offspring of the Church.

Het boek ‘De uitvinding van het individu’ is een moderne klassieker die ons op andere manier laat kijken naar onszelf en onze geschiedenis. ‘De uitvinding van het individu’ van Larry Siedentop laat zien hoe in de westerse samenleving het vrije individu belangrijker werd dan de groep, de stam en de familie. Wij zijn allemaal onszelf en daarin allemaal gelijk. Dit proces, dat het fundament vormt van onze liberale democratieën, begon niet in de Renaissance, zoals vaak wordt gedacht, maar vond zijn aanvang bijna 2000 jaar geleden, in het vroege christendom. Siedentops inmiddels klassieke boek verandert de manier waarop we naar onszelf en de wereld waarin wij leven, kijken radicaal. 'De uitvinding van het individu is een geweldige bijdrage aan het debat over het liberalisme.' - Trouw, vijf sterren ‘Een opmerkelijk boek dat de manier waarop we naar onszelf kijken zal veranderen’ – The Guardian

De oorsprong van het westerse liberalisme

De uitvinding van het individu

Inventing the Individual. :bthe Origins of Western Liberalism

If the European Union applied to become a member of the European Union it would be rejected as undemocratic. Can the European Union foster greater democracy in Europe, and so protect the dispersal of power, personal freedom and the rule of law? Willit improve our shared lives and increase sense of being useful citizens? Rejecting both nostalgia for the nation state and thoughtless optimism, Larry Siedentop sets out to explore the practical implications of government on a continental scale. He draws on his expertise as an historian of liberal theory to produce an analysis of Europe's various political economies. In creating a framework for thought, this is sure to be a key work in the long deferred debate on Europe.

Democracy in Europe

¿Cómo es la Europa en que queremos vivir? Esta es la pregunta que subyace a temas tan diversos como la intervención en Kosovo, la corrupción en Bruselas o el lanzamiento del euro. A pesar de la profunda hostilidad que enfrenta a los defensores de una Europa unida y a los euroescépticos, aún no se han esbozado los perfiles de un debate público serio. Larry Siedentop defiende en La democracia en Europa la acuciante necesidad de profundizar en los temas políticos fundamentales que han surgido a raíz del proceso de unificación europea. Partiendo del estudio del debate que precedió al nacimiento del gobierno federal en Estados Unidos, el autor analiza qué debemos esperar y qué podemos temer de la Unión Europea. Asimismo, contrapesa el pensamiento de los grandes teóricos del gobierno supranacional, como Montesquieu y Tocqueville, con un análisis profundo y crítico de la Europa contemporánea. Siedentop razona que sólo sobre la base de una constitución públicamente discutida y consensuada se podrá construir una Europa capaz de estar a la altura de las presiones que habrá de soportar. El movimiento hacia la integración europea, que ya se ha iniciado, nos cambiará a todos. Depende de nosotros, dice Siedentop, asegurarnos de que sea para bien.

La democracia en Europa

Siedentop examines whether representative government is feasible across the vast physical scale and human diversity of Europe, exploring the threat to local autonomy and individual freedom, and anatomizing the widely different political cultures of Britain, France, and Germany. He balances an understanding of the great theorists of supranational government, especially Montesquieu and De Tocqueville, with a deep, though critical, appreciation of contemporary Europe.

Larry Siedentop

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