Description
The first book to show how Cicero invented the idea of 'the will of the people' and its ramifications today.
About the Author
Lex Paulson is the Executive Director of the UM6P School of Collective Intelligence (Morocco) and lectures in advocacy at Sciences Po-Paris. Trained in classics and community organizing, he served as mobilization strategist for the campaigns of Barack Obama in 2008 and Emmanuel Macron in 2017. He has led projects in democratic innovation and leadership for UNICEF, the US State Department, the French National Assembly and the National Democratic Institute. He served as legislative counsel in the 111th US Congress (2009-2011), organized on six US presidential campaigns, and has worked to advance democratic innovation at the European Commission and in India, Tunisia, Egypt, Uganda, Senegal, Czech Republic and Ukraine.
Reviews
'Paulson's book has laid the groundwork for a re-evaluation of the philosophical and political ideas that we have inherited from the Roman world.' David Sedley, Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy, University of Cambridge
'The story of Cicero has much to teach us about our own fragile republics - where their flaws began, and how we can still fix them.' U.S. Congressman Jim Himes, Connecticut
'If there is a single abstract noun that has done more to shape the modern world than any other, it may well be the Latin voluntas, which we ordinarily translate as 'will'. In bold and commanding prose, Lex Paulson recounts this history for us, showing us the fascinating transformations of the concept of will in the work of Cicero. Paulson's isolation of this key moment, and his expert account of its enduring relevance for our own polities, is nothing short of a revelation.' Justin E. H. Smith, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Paris
'Before reading Paulson's book, I knew Cicero as the Illinois burg with one of the world's first airfields, where Al Capone's gang ran rampant. As it turns out, the real Cicero was just as tough and every bit as ingenious.' Sir Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Book Information
ISBN 9781316514115
Author Lex Paulson
Format Hardback
Page Count 300
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 560g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 155mm * 20mm