Nature of Constant's distinction between ancient and modern liberty

  What is the nature of Constant's distinction between ancient and modern liberty and how does this distinction inform the constitutional recommendations Constant makes in his Principles of Politics? How important do you think Constant's arguments are? Benjamin Constant and two types of liberty Liberal theories did not go unchallenged as they developed. For republican thinkers like Rousseau, the liberal conception of freedom is corrosive of community and cannot guarantee genuine individual autonomy. One important response to the republican challenge came from Benjamin Constant, who sought to distinguish between modern liberty and ancient liberty, which Constant believed republicans were trying to revive. Seminar Discussion Questions • How does Constant distinguish between modern and ancient liberty? • Which type of liberty does he favour? • What were the conditions of ancient liberty and do they still exist according to Constant? • What does Constant say are the dangers of both kinds of liberty? • What kind of relationship does Constant seek to establish between the individual and the community? • What does Constant think the role of the state should be? • How does Constant criticise Rousseau, and how do you think Rousseau might respond? • What does Constant say about commerce and what significance does it have for his argument? Key reading B Constant ‘The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with that of the Moderns’ in Political Writings Additional reading B Constant Principles of Politics Applicable to All Governments G Dodge Benjamin Constant’s Philosophy of Liberalism J Cruikshank Benjamin Constant W HoldheimBenjamin Constant, especially chapter 4 S Holmes Benjamin Constant and the Making of Modern Liberalism B Fontana Benjamin Constant and the post-revolutionary mind B Fink ‘Benjamin Constant on Equality’, Journal of the History of Ideas 33:2 (1972) L Siedentop ‘Two Liberal Traditions’ in A Ryan (ed) The Idea of Freedom G Kelly The Humane Comedy: Constant, Tocqueville and French Liberalism J-J Rousseau The Social Contract [one of the targets of Constant’s critique] G Kelly ‘Liberalism and Aristocracy in the French Restoration’, Journal of the History of Ideas 26:4 (1965)