{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1","title":"Political Theory - Online Library of Liberty","home_page_url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/collections/political-theory","feed_url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/rss/political_theory.json","description":"Political theory encompasses debates over such issues as self-government, the rule of law, and constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and of the press. From foundational writings to twentieth century perspectives, OLL’s collection represents thinkers and texts that have helped shape the ideas of liberty.\n","language":"en","items":[{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/chronology-the-life-and-work-of-edmund-burke","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/chronology-the-life-and-work-of-edmund-burke","title":"Chronology: The Life and Work of Edmund Burke\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003eRelated Links:\n\u003cul\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/edmund-burke\"\u003eEdmund Burke\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eCollections: \u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/collections/political-theory\"\u003ePolitical Theory\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/5a323ee541741c7316d79f723a5bbb03.jpg\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRelated Links in the Goodrich Seminar Room:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/page/goodrich-seminar-room\"\u003eEdmund Burke\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/canavan-select-works-of-edmund-burke-vol-2#lf0005-02_head_016\"\u003eIntroduction to \u003cem\u003eSelect Works of Edmund Burke. A New Imprint of the Payne Edition.\u003c/em\u003e Foreword and Biographical Note by Francis Canavan (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1999). Vol. 2.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2007-03-14T 6:03:51-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/5a323ee541741c7316d79f723a5bbb03.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/elena-yijia-zeng","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/elena-yijia-zeng","title":"Zeng (Elena Yi-Jia)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eElena Yi-Jia Zeng is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Political Theory at Princeton University Center for Human Values and Department of Politics.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2024-11-08T11:53:51-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/5240/elena_yijia_zeng.jpeg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/gabriela-calderon-de-burgos","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/gabriela-calderon-de-burgos","title":"Calderon de Burgos (Gabriela)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eGabriela Calderón de Burgos is a Fellow in Latin American Studies at the Cato Institute, editor of ElCato.org, and a columnist for \u003cem\u003eEl Universo\u003c/em\u003e(Ecuador).\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2025-02-12T 8:09:04-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/5252/gabriela_calderon.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2025-01-22-liberalism-in-the-true-believer","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2025-01-22-liberalism-in-the-true-believer","title":"Liberalism in The True Believer\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003eIn November, Liberty Fund \u003ca href=\"https://libertyfund.circle.so/c/living-in-a-world-of-true-believers-why-eric-hoffer-still-matters/living-in-a-world-of-true-believers-why-eric-hoffer-still-matters-97ad55d9-89e1-48a8-9ff0-3b83953b57f7\"\u003ehosted a virtual reading group\u003c/a\u003e on Eric Hoffer's short book, \u003ca href=\"https://amzn.to/40jGJxT\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe True Believer\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cdiv\u003eOne topic of discussion was Hoffer's conservatism, which is implicit to his theories of mass movements. One place it’s implied is in his mistreatment of liberalism. In section 52, under “Deprecation of the Present”, Hoffer sums up his views of conservatives, skeptics, liberals, radicals, and reactionaries.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--jpg\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/885de1a8293658c76975ef6f2613eb6a.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/885de1a8293658c76975ef6f2613eb6a.jpg\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption\"\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2025-01-14T 4:51:23-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/885de1a8293658c76975ef6f2613eb6a.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/eric-s-kos","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/eric-s-kos","title":"Kos (Eric S.)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eEric Kos is a retired Professor of Political Science from Siena Heights University and currently teaches part-time at Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2024-09-25T 8:19:08-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/5234/eric_kos.jpeg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/elizabeth-corey","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/elizabeth-corey","title":"Corey (Elizabeth)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eElizabeth Corey is an associate professor of Political Science and Director of the Honors Program at Baylor University, in Waco, Texas.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2024-09-24T 9:04:43-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/5232/elizabeth_corey.png"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2024-05-24-goodman-milton-crown","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2024-05-24-goodman-milton-crown","title":"John Milton—Secret Fan of The Crown?\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--jpg\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/daf02c2b918eec269079caebfc1f4741.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/daf02c2b918eec269079caebfc1f4741.jpg\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"attachment__name\"\u003enypl.digitalcollections.510d47de-5ab9-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.001.w (1).jpg\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"attachment__size\"\u003e109.99 KB\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor those of you who, like me, became hooked on Netflix’s award-winning drama about Queen Elizabeth II and the modern British monarchy during the Covid lockdown (or, in my case, shortly thereafter), the end of The Crown was somewhat bittersweet.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2024-05-24T 8:59:06-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/daf02c2b918eec269079caebfc1f4741.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/say-boll-8-j-b-say-of-the-right-of-property-1819","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/say-boll-8-j-b-say-of-the-right-of-property-1819","title":"The Best of the OLL No. 8: Jean-Baptiste Say, “Of the Right of Property” (1819)\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003eThis is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Jean-Baptiste Say’s *Treatise on Political Economy* in which very early on in the book he presents his defence of the right of property in physical things as well as one’s own “talents and faculties.”\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2013-03-12T11:57:40-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/5df1bfbcfd21843a00cb28d9728cbedd.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/blackstone-boll-9-william-blackstone-of-the-absolute-rights-of-individuals-1766","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/blackstone-boll-9-william-blackstone-of-the-absolute-rights-of-individuals-1766","title":"The Best of the OLL No. 9: Sir William Blackstone, “Of the Absolute Rights of Individuals” (1766)\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003eThis is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. This one comes from Sir William Blackstone’s *Commentaries on the Laws of England* in which he defines the “absolute rights” which individuals had prior to the existence of the state and which laid the foundation for the traditional rights of Englishmen.\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2013-03-12T12:03:57-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/928fa0cb4c888f97828ad5557a916d61.png"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/morton-j-frisch","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/morton-j-frisch","title":"Frisch (Morton J.)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eMorton J. Frisch was Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Northern Illinois University.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2011-12-23T 1:15:31-0500","image":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/images/egghead.png"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2024-03-21-oakeshott-and-weaver-two-types-of-conservatism","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2024-03-21-oakeshott-and-weaver-two-types-of-conservatism","title":"Oakeshott and Weaver: Two Types of Conservatism\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--jpg\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/63d904559c41f95ea7c54584743f3bd3.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/63d904559c41f95ea7c54584743f3bd3.jpg\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption\"\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmong the ways in which to classify different species of conservatism, one might consider how different kinds of conservatives seem to be less zealous and ideological than are others. When considered in this light, conservatism has two general types, and these are exemplified by \u003ca href=\"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/michael-oakeshott\"\u003eMichael Oakeshott\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://www.libertyfund.org/?s=richard%20weaver\"\u003eRichard Weaver.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2024-03-18T 2:22:35-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/63d904559c41f95ea7c54584743f3bd3.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2024-03-13-paul-counsel-command-english-civil-war","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/publications/reading-room/2024-03-13-paul-counsel-command-english-civil-war","title":"Counsel, Command and English Renaissance Politics: Counsel and Command in the English Civil War\n","content_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cfigure class=\"attachment attachment--preview attachment--jpg\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/4a6109d4ebe5dd4b3d13d14674703063.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/4a6109d4ebe5dd4b3d13d14674703063.jpg\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption class=\"attachment__caption attachment__caption--edited\"\u003e'Portrait of Charles I in Three Positions' by Anthony Van Dyck, Royal Collection, United Kingdom (detail)\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe period between the Wars of the Roses and the England Civil War has been referred to by scholars as the ‘monarchy of counsel’: an era where advice and advisers were at the centre of political discourse. As concepts of ‘counsel’ (political advice-giving) and ‘command’ (sovereign authority) developed and came into conflict, writers also touched on issues of free speech, political prudence and reason of state. This blog series explores these topics and the essential changes to ideas of politics that came about, drawing on material from \u003c/em\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Counsel-Command-English-Thought-Context/dp/1108748252/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8\u0026amp;qid=1694799622\u0026amp;sr=8-1\"\u003eCounsel and Command in Early Modern English Thought\u003c/a\u003e \u003cem\u003eby Dr Joanne Paul\u003c/em\u003e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n\n","date_published":"2024-03-08T 1:56:37-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/posts/4a6109d4ebe5dd4b3d13d14674703063.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/joseph-postell","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/joseph-postell","title":"Postell (Joseph)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eJoseph Postell is an associate professor of politics at Hillsdale  College.  His research focuses primarily on regulation, administrative law, and the administrative state.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2022-02-23T 5:08:39-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4910/joseph-postell.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/virginia-postrel","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/virginia-postrel","title":"Postrel (Virginia)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eVirginia Postrel is a visiting fellow at the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy at Chapman University.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2022-08-17T 3:53:50-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/5009/virginia-postrel.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/michael-valdez-moses","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/michael-valdez-moses","title":"Moses (Michael Valdez)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eMichael Valdez Moses is Professor of Literature and the Humanities in the Smith Institute for Political Economy \u0026amp; Philosophy, the Department of Philosophy, and the Argyros School of Business \u0026amp; Economics at Chapman University, and Associate Emeritus Professor at Duke University.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2023-05-02T 8:37:07-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/5096/michael-valdez-moses.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/lucas-e-morel","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/lucas-e-morel","title":"Morel (Lucas E.)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eLucas E. Morel is the John K. Boardman, Jr. Professor of Politics and Head of the Politics Department at Washington and Lee University. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont Graduate University.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2022-08-19T 1:10:32-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/5027/lucas-morel.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/alberto-mingardi","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/alberto-mingardi","title":"Mingardi (Alberto)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eAlberto Mingardi is an assistant professor of the history of political thought at IULM University in Milan, Italy. He is director general of the free-market think tank Istituto Bruno Leoni . Mingardi is also the Presidential Scholar in Political Theory at Chapman University and an adjunct fellow at the Cato Institute.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2022-04-01T12:49:17-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4948/alberto-mingardi-1.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/carol-mcnamara","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/carol-mcnamara","title":"McNamara (Carol)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eCarol McNamara is the director of the Great Hearts Institute for Classical Education. She previously served as senior director at the Center for Constitutional Design at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2023-05-23T11:03:38-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/5101/carol-mcnamara.png"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/mary-jo-macdonald","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/mary-jo-macdonald","title":"MacDonald (Mary Jo)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eMary Jo MacDonald is a Ph.D. candidate in political theory at the University of Toronto.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2022-02-15T 8:59:35-0500","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/people/4891/mary-jo-macdonald.jpg"},{"id":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/jacob-t-levy","url":"https://oll.libertyfund.org/people/jacob-t-levy","title":"Levy (Jacob T.)\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eJacob T. Levy is Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory, professor of political science, and associated faculty in the department of philosophy at McGill University.\u003c/p\u003e\n","date_published":"2016-06-22T 9:34:16-0400","image":"https://oll-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/oll3/store/images/jlevy-cato.jpg"}]}