Political moderation is the touchstone of democracy, which could
not function without compromise and bargaining, yet it is one of
the most understudied concepts in political theory. How can we
explain this striking paradox? Why do we often underestimate the
virtue of moderation? Seeking to answer these questions, " A Virtue
for Courageous Minds" examines moderation in modern French
political thought and sheds light on the French Revolution and its
legacy.
Aurelian Craiutu begins with classical thinkers who extolled the
virtues of a moderate approach to politics, such as Aristotle and
Cicero. He then shows how Montesquieu inaugurated the modern
rebirth of this tradition by laying the intellectual foundations
for moderate government. Craiutu looks at important figures such as
Jacques Necker, Madame de Stael, and Benjamin Constant, not only in
the context of revolutionary France but throughout Europe. He
traces how moderation evolves from an individual moral virtue into
a set of institutional arrangements calculated to protect
individual liberty, and he explores the deep affinity between
political moderation and constitutional complexity. Craiutu
demonstrates how moderation navigates between political extremes,
and he challenges the common notion that moderation is an
essentially conservative virtue, stressing instead its eclectic
nature.
Drawing on a broad range of writings in political theory, the
history of political thought, philosophy, and law, "A Virtue for
Courageous Minds" reveals how the virtue of political moderation
can address the profound complexities of the world today."
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