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I Cicero's Legacy and the Story of Modern Liberty by Michael Collins

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I Cicero's Legacy and the Story of Modern Liberty by Michael Collins Cicero’s Legacy and the Story of Modern Liberty by Michael Collins Hawley Department of Political Science Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Michael Gillespie, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Ruth Grant, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Thomas Spragens ___________________________ Jed Atkins Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 i v ABSTRACT Cicero’s Legacy and the Story of Modern Liberty by Michael Collins Hawley Department of Political Science Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Michael Gillespie, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Ruth Grant, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Thomas Spragens ___________________________ Jed Atkins An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 Copyright by Michael Collins Hawley 2017 Abstract There is a widespread belief among scholars that liberalism and republicanism are two alternative traditions, that the ideal of liberty for individuals to freely order their own lives and ideal of liberty for political communities to govern themselves developed in tension with each other. The deeply influential historical account that undergirds this view has provided reasons for believing that the two ideals are not only historical rivals, but conceptually incompatible—and that reconciliation between the two is always synthetic and a matter of compromise. I challenge this account by arguing that both of these traditions derive from Cicero and that they can be reconciled on a Ciceronian foundation. I argue that Cicero— not Machiavelli—ought to be considered the central figure in the republican tradition and classical source for liberalism as well. I show that Cicero offers a theory of politics according to which republican self-government and the freedom and security of individuals are inextricably linked and mutually reinforcing. In other words, Cicero articulates a vision the blends that liberal and republican ideals of freedom into one coherent whole. I then illustrate how this ideal lies at the core of John Locke’s early articulation of natural rights. And finally, I demonstrate that the American Founding constitutes the culmination of this Ciceronian tradition of liberal republicanism. iv Dedication For Irene Hawley and Irene Collins: my first teachers, and my best. v Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... ix Introduction: From Rome to America ........................................................................................ 1 1.2 Organization of the Dissertation .................................................................................. 11 1.3 A Great Controversy ...................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2: Cicero’s Vision of Free Citizens and a Free Commonwealth ............................ 22 2.1 Natural Law and the Purposes of the Commonwealth ............................................ 28 2.2 Justice and Property ....................................................................................................... 46 2.3 Rights and the Rule of Law ........................................................................................... 57 2.4 Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism ................................................................................ 66 2.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 76 Chapter 3: A Commonwealth Without Justice: Machiavelli’s challenge to Cicero and a contest for the soul of republicanism ....................................................................................... 79 3.1 Enter Machiavelli ............................................................................................................ 82 3.2 Machiavelli’s Place: Prevailing Views ......................................................................... 86 3.3 Cicero and Machiavelli: the Common Ground .......................................................... 92 3.4 A Common Good Without Justice ............................................................................... 96 3.4 Machiavelli’s Leonine and Vulpine Virtue ............................................................... 111 3.5 Conclusion: The “Effectual Truth” of Republicanism ............................................ 119 Chapter 4: Parallel Lives: Two Ciceronian traditions in the aftermath of Machiavelli .. 123 Part 1: A Natural Law for Modernity: Grotius and Pufendorf ............................................. 125 vi 4.1.1 A Common Ground ................................................................................................ 127 4.1.2 Natural Law and the State of Nature ................................................................... 132 4.1.3 The Politics of Natural Law ................................................................................... 142 Part 2: An English Res Publica ......................................................................................... 149 4.2.1 Which Ancient Liberty? .......................................................................................... 153 4.2.2 The Liberty of the State and the Liberty of the Citizen ...................................... 159 4.2.3 Cicero as Republican Symbol ................................................................................ 163 Conclusion: Theses Ripe for Synthesis ............................................................................ 165 Chapter 5: Locke’s Ciceronian Liberalism ............................................................................. 168 5.1 Locke and “Tully” ........................................................................................................ 173 5.2 The Conundrum of Locke’s Natural Law ................................................................. 179 5.3 The Natural Law of the Questions: Reconciling Honestum and Utile ................ 189 5.4 The State of Nature and Rights: Locke Against Hobbes ......................................... 203 5.5 Property ......................................................................................................................... 211 5.5 Natural Law and Limited Government .................................................................... 218 5.6 Conclusion: Liberalism Out of Cicero’s Republicanism ......................................... 230 Chapter 6: An American Res Publica ...................................................................................... 234 6.1 The Place of the Founding in the Republicanism-Liberalism Debate .................. 236 6.2 The Founding out of the Ciceronian Tradition ........................................................ 245 6.3 The Founding as the Culmination of the Ciceronian Tradition ............................ 255 6.4 Writing the Res Publica ............................................................................................... 270 6.5 Concluding Thoughts .................................................................................................. 275 vii References .................................................................................................................................. 281 Biography ................................................................................................................................... 289 viii Acknowledgements In acknowledging the many debts I have incurred in the writing of this dissertation, I find myself aware that I am committing an unjustified presumption in assuming that the reputations of those in question would be enhanced—or at least not sullied—by their association with this project. I can only hope that I thank them better by naming them than by maintaining a discreet silence. I first encountered Cicero as a high school freshman in Ned Ligon’s Latin class. He helped me to see through Cicero’s pardonable vanity to the brilliant theoretical mind behind it. But, it was at Tufts that I first truly discovered political philosophy as the field that asked the questions that had always fascinated and driven me. Vickie Sullivan, Ioannis Evrigenis, and Rob Devigne were three of the finest teachers and guides I could have asked for. It is thanks to their cultivation and encouragement of me that I decided to take the leap and pursue a career as a political theorist. Each of them has continued to provide support and feedback as I have embarked on writing this dissertation. At Duke, I found a committee whose support was equally kind and generous. Ruth Grant first encouraged me to write my dissertation on this particular topic, and her insights and encouragement have been invaluable. Michael Gillespie has done more than anyone to prepare me to be a professional academic, and I have tried to reflect his lessons in my writing. Jed Atkins has cheerfully served as a sounding board for my ideas about Cicero and his expertise in Cicero’s thought is
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