James Harrington

Abstract

Abstract James Harrington was a significant political and intellectual figure of the mid-seventeenth century, whose life and works embody the complex and contested web of political, religious and cultural ideas that lay at the heart of the English Revolution. His innovative constitutional proposals exercised a profound influence on political debate during that period and for at least two centuries thereafter, and his insights - particularly on democracy - remain relevant today. The complexity of Harrington’s thought has been under-appreciated by scholars in recent years due to the tendency to view him solely from the perspective of republicanism. While research into English republicanism has enriched accounts of seventeenth-century England and the history of political thought, it has also narrowed and obscured our perspective on Harrington. This book offers a broader account of Harrington’s life and work. It addresses Harrington’s contributions to the parliamentary cause and his role as the English agent of Charles I’s nephew, the Prince Elector Palatine. It takes seriously Harrington’s role as a literary figure and his engagement with historical, religious, scientific, and philosophical debates. It puts the case for Harrington as a radical political thinker, committed to democracy and social mobility. It also shows that in a variety of areas he deliberately pursued a middle path, or a balance, between different positions so as to promote reconciliation among a variety of groups. The broader view of Harrington offered here has implications both for our understanding of the seventeenth century and for the discipline of intellectual history.