Privilege and Liberty and Other Essays in Political Philosophy (Applications of Political Theory)

Kolnai, Aurel

ISBN 10: 0739100777 / ISBN 13: 9780739100776

Published by Lexington Books, 1999

In. Seller Inventory # ria9780739100776_new

Synopsis:

We are currently witnessing an increasingly influential counterrevolution in political theory, evident in the dialectical return to classical political science pioneered most prominently by Leo Strauss and Eric Voegelin. In this context, the work of the relatively unknown Aurel Kolnai is of great importance. Kolnai was one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century to place the restoration of common-sense evaluation and philosophical realism at the center of his philosophical and political itinerary. In this volume, Daniel J. Mahoney presents Kolnais major writings in political philosophy, writings that explore - in ways that are diverse but complementary - Kolnais critique of progressive or egalitarian democracy. The title essay contains Kolnais fullest account of the limits of liberty understood as emancipation from traditional, natural, or divine restraints. The Utopian Mind, a prÈcis of Kolnais critique of utopianism in a posthumous book of the same title, appears here for the first time. Conservative and Revolutionary Ethos, Kolnais remarkable 1972 essay comparing conservative and revolutionary approaches to political life, appears for the first time in English translation. The volume also includes a critically sympathetic evaluation of Michael Oakeshotts Rationalism in Politics and an incisive criticism of Jacques Maritains efforts to synthesize Christian orthodoxy and progressive politics. Privilege and Liberty and Other Essays in Political Philosophy is a searching critique of political utopianism, as well as a pathbreaking articulation of conservative constitutionalism as the true support for human liberty properly understood. It is a major contribution to Christian and conservative political reflection in our time.

About the Author: Aurel Kolnai (1900-1973) was a distinguished moral and political philosopher. His books include The War Against the West (1938), Ethics, Value and Reality (1977), and The Utopian Mind and Other Papers (1995). Daniel J. Mahoney is Associate Professor of Political Science at Assumption College. He is author of The Liberal Political Science of Raymond Aron (1992) and De Gaulle: Statesmanship, Grandeur, and Modern Democracy (1996) and the editor of Modern Liberty and Its Discontents by Pierre Manent (1998).

Bibliographic Details

Title: Privilege and Liberty and Other Essays in ...
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication Date: 1999
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: New