Casting out Hagar and her children: Richard Price, Platonism and the origins of American independence*

Abstract

Plato's political philosophy is often thought to be antidemocratic and intolerant. This essay argues, however, that the eighteenth century campaigner for American independence, Richard Price, adopted an account of moral and political liberty that was grounded in a Platonic conception of the self and freedom. Influenced particularly by Plato and the Cambridge Platonists, Price's idea of a self-governing state, and the protection of civil liberties, is built upon an idea of moral liberty that seeks deiformity as the final good for human beings. Although his political philosophy is therefore perfectionist, it is committed to a belief in the centrality of freedom and self-determination. The importance of Platonism for Price's thought means that he should, in some important respects, be considered an heir of Cambridge Platonism and the Platonic tradition.