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Encyclopedia of Political Thought Encyclopedia of Political Thought Encyclopedia of Political Thought GARRETT WARD SHELDON Encyclopedia of Political Thought Copyright © 2001 by Garrett Ward Sheldon All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Encyclopedia of political thought / [edited] by Garrett Ward Sheldon. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8160-4351-5 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-4381-2924-2 (e-book) 1. Political science—Encyclopedias. 2. Political science—History—Encyclopedias. 3. World politics—Encyclopedias. I. Sheldon, Garrett Ward, 1954– JA61.E52 2001 320’.03—dc21 2001023590 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at 212/967-8800 or 800/322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.factsonfile.com Text and cover design by Cathy Rincon Printed in the United States of America. VBFOF 1098765432 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. CONTENTS LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS vii PREFACE ix ENTRIES A–Z 1 APPENDIX: CLASSIC BOOKS IN POLITICAL THOUGHT 317 CHRONOLOGY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT AND EVENTS 319 INDEX 327 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS PATRICK HAYDEN is an assistant professor of philosophy at New England College, New Hampshire. TOM LANSFORD is an assistant professor of political science at New England College, New Hampshire. WAYNE LESPERANCE is an assistant professor of political science at New England College, New Hampshire. PAUL VOICE is an assistant professor of philosophy at Bennington College, Vermont. vii PREFACE This Encyclopedia of Political Thought is intended to concepts what will contribute to a more just and present, in clear and concise form, the many ideas, peaceful world. In many ways, it is a more detailed concepts, persons, and movements in the world’s polit- treatment of my book The History of Political Theory. ical history. It covers everything from abstract ideals I am grateful to the several scholars who con- (like freedom and justice) to major thinkers (Aristotle, tributed some of the articles in this volume. My editor St. Thomas Aquinas, Locke, Marx) and contempo- at Facts On File, Owen Lancer, has been a great help in rary movements (feminism, environmentalism, paci- this endeavor, and the excellent manuscript prepara- fism) from around the world (Western, Indian, Islamic, tion by Linda Meade is very appreciated. Chinese). “veritas vos liberabit” Political ideas and theories have always informed practical political change, and it is my hope that this —Garrett Ward Sheldon encyclopedia leads to greater understanding of political Editor ix A abolition gested the emancipation of slaves as part of the new The movement to abolish SLAVERY, while most notable Republic’s CONSTITUTION. in the United States, can trace its origins to other Serious antislavery efforts, however, did not emerge countries such as the United Kingdom. Although most until the formation of the American Colonization Soci- abolitionist activity occurred in these two countries, ety in 1816. This organization led antislavery protests antislavery efforts were under way throughout most of during the early 1800s. It sought to repatriate freed Europe. In Britain, for example, abolitionists worked slaves back to Liberia. The first periodicals dedicated to end the international slave trade and to free slaves to the abolition movement were published by Elihu in the British colonies. Unlike the United States, slav- Embree in 1819. This Jonesboro, Tennessee, based ery had never flourished in the United Kingdom. Many weekly newspaper called for the immediate emancipa- English did, however, prosper as a result of the slave tion of Africans living in the United States. Embree trade to the colonies. William Wilberforce, a statesman also established The Emancipator in 1820. Eleven years and orator, headed the antislavery movement in En- later, in 1831, William Lloyd Garrison, one of the best gland. In 1807, he helped persuade Parliament to pass known abolitionists, published another newspaper, a bill outlawing the slave trade. In 1833, another bill The Liberator. Garrison’s demand for the immediate abolished slavery throughout the British Empire. FREEDOM of slaves was well received and supported by Between the 15th and the 19th centuries, an esti- the American Anti-Slavery Society, which was founded mated total of 15 million Africans were forcibly trans- in 1833. Despite bitter opposition by southern slave ported to the Americas. U.S. antislavery efforts may be states, the abolition movement spread throughout the traced back to its early settlements. Among some colo- northeastern United States. Violent opposition to the nials, slavery was viewed with considerable disdain. In movement surfaced with the murder, in 1837, of Elijah the 1680s, for example, Quakers in Pennsylvania con- P. Lovejoy by an angry mob. Lovejoy, a newspaper edi- demned slavery on moral grounds. In the late 1700s, tor in Illinois, had published antislavery editorials. several prominent founding fathers of the American The situation in the United States was complex Revolution, including Thomas Jefferson and Patrick because the social and economic base of the 11 south- Henry, not only spoke out against slavery but sug- ern states was agrarian and labor intensive. Further- 1 2 abortion more, in the era of “Cotton is King,” southern slave cent human life, requiring legal protection. Both sides owners were reluctant to do away with the extremely agree that abortion is a moral issue but dispute lucrative cotton-based agriculture. Finally, in response whether the individual woman or society at large to growing abolitionist attacks, the South intensified should make the decision whether or not abortion is its system of slave control, particularly after the Nat allowed. Liberal Democrats, women’s rights groups, Turner revolt of 1831. By that time, U.S. abolitionists and mainline PROTESTANT churches in the United States realized the failure of gradualism and persuasion, and (Presbyterian, Episcopal, Lutheran) have tended to be they subsequently turned to a more militant policy, “pro-choice”; conservative Republicans, the CATHOLIC demanding immediate abolition by LAW. Church, and EVANGELICAL Christians have tended to be By the late 1830s and early 1840s, abolition efforts “pro-life.” As the U.S. SUPREME COURT became increas- took on a new form. In addition to the traditional ingly conservative in the 1980s and 1990s, its rulings activism, which was the hallmark of the movement, on abortion allowed greater restrictions on abortions abolitionists took more direct action such as seeking by state legislatures. The social debate over abortion public offices and establishing new political parties continues to be intense. such as the Liberty Party and the Free-Soil Party. After 1854, most abolitionists supported the party of Lin- Further Reading coln, the Republican Party, because of its northern Hunter, James Davison. Before the Shooting Begins. New York: Free Press, 1994. roots and antislavery platform. With the onset of the American Civil War in 1861, abolitionists urged the North to make abolition one of its wartime goals. Their efforts were rewarded in 1863 absolutism when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emanci- The idea that a ruler or government has absolute or pation Proclamation. Although not comprehensive, total power. This implies that no other persons, the proclamation declared slaves freed in most of the groups, or institutions have power. Examples of abso- Southern states. It was not until 1865 with the pas- lutism include absolute monarchs like King Louis XIV sage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitu- of France, Nazi leader Adolf HITLER of Germany, and tion that slavery was abolished throughout the United Soviet communist dictator Joseph STALIN. In each case, States. the absolutist leader is not limited or restrained by any other individual or power. Limits on an absolutist Further Reading ruler or government might come from (1) other peo- Jones, Howard. All On Fire: William Lloyd Garrison and the Abo- ple with power who counteract the ruler’s authority; lition of Slavery. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. (2) legal or constitutional limits on a ruler’s power; (3) other institutions or groups (political parties, the church, labor unions) who challenge the absolute abortion power of the state. This is why most absolutist leaders The ending of a pregnancy by surgical or chemical and governments make all other people and institu- removal of the fetus from the woman. The intense tions dependent on them. So in Nazi Germany, the political debate caused in the United States by the Boy Scouts became The Hitler Youth; in Communist Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Roe v. Wade Russia, the Boy Scouts became the Communist Youth (1973), which decriminalized abortion but placed League. All private social organizations (clubs, frater- restrictions on when during pregnancy the procedure nities, churches) become attached to the state and could be performed, has been compared to that over under its control. A main writer on absolutism, abolition of slavery in the early
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