Louis Hartz is best known for his classic study, The Liberal Tradition in America. At Harvard University, his lecture course on nineteenth-century politics and ideologies was memorable. Through the editorial hand of Paul Roazen, we can now share the experience of Hartz's considerable contributions to the theory of politics.

At the root of Hartz's work is the belief that revolution is not produced by misery, but by pressure of a new system on an old one. This approach enables him to explain sharp differences in revolutionary traditions. Because America essentially was a liberal society from its beginning and had no need for revolutions, America also lacked reactionaries, and lacked a tradition of genuine conservatism characteristic of European thought.

In lectures embracing Rousseau, Burke, Comte, Hegel, Mill, and Marx among others, Hartz develops a keen sense of the delicate balance between the role of the state in both enhancing and limiting personal freedom. Hartz notably insisted on the autonomy of intellectual life and the necessity of individual choice as an essential ingredient of liberty.

About the Author
Louis Hartz (1919-1986) was professor of government at Harvard University, USA until he retired in 1974. He was a prominent political scientist and proponent of American exceptionalism. Paul Roazen (1936-2005) was professor emeritus of social and political science at York University in Toronto, Canada and is noted for his work on the history of psychoanalysis. Benjamin R. Barber is a senior research scholar at The Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society of The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, USA.


Book Information
ISBN 9781412854870
Author Louis Hartz
Format Paperback
Page Count 200
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Inc
Weight(grams) 249g