Republicanism
Ideology · Ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy, revived in political theory from the 1970s · Politics, stage 2: Map the ideologies
Republicanism understands freedom as non-domination: to be free is not to be subject to another's arbitrary power, whether or not that power is ever exercised. On this account a well-treated slave or a legally dependent spouse is unfree even in the absence of interference, because someone else could interfere at will. Its institutional prescriptions follow from that: dispersed powers, decisions open to challenge, the rule of law, an attentive citizenry, and enough civic virtue to keep public office from becoming private property. The tradition runs from Aristotle and Cicero through Machiavelli's Discourses to the English and American revolutionaries, and was reconstructed as a live alternative to liberalism by theorists in the late 20th century. Critics argue that non-domination collapses into negative liberty once it is fully specified, and that the tradition's demand for civic participation asks more of citizens than most are willing to give.
What it claims
- Freedom is the absence of domination, not merely the absence of interference.
- Power must be dispersed and open to challenge, because unchecked power is a standing threat even when unused.
- Self-government depends on citizens who take part in it, and on institutions that reward doing so.
Key ideas
People
Sources
- Republicanism Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Niccolò Machiavelli Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyThe Discourses, rather than The Prince, are where the republican argument sits.
- Classical republicanism Wikipedia
