Prof. Robert Adcock PSc 8107.

Spring 2013
Email: adcockr@gwu.edu Friday 3:30-5:30; Duques 360
Office: 416 Monroe Hall of Government Office Hours: Thu 10:00-12:00

Political Science 8107: Modern Political Thought and Ideologies

Course Overview
In his introduction to Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville declares: “A new political
science is needed for a world altogether new.” Tocqueville’s claim reflects a dynamic interaction
between socio-economic change, political change, and intellectual change that is both a recurring
topic and dilemma for modern political thought. This dynamic provides the thematic focus of our
study of modern political thought and ideologies. We explore how major Western thinkers from
the 18th through early 20th century envisioned grand transformative processes—conceptualized as
“civilization,” “progress,” or later “rationalization”—that they saw giving rise to, and continuing
within, “modern” societies and economies. We ask, in turn, how these visions of transformation
were refracted within the claims, hopes, and anxieties of their political theories.

We address these questions in two periods. First we look at the 18th-century Enlightenment via
works of Montesquieu, Hume, Rousseau, and Kant. Major topics include the rise of commerce
and its social and political consequences, republican versus monarchical forms of governments,
and the impact of socio-economic changes and political regimes on international war or peace.
The second part of the course looks at the century or so from the end of the Napoleonic Wars
through World War 1 via works of Tocqueville, JS Mill, Marx, and Weber. Major topics include
democratization as a social and a political phenomenon, and industrialization and its political
consequences. In sum we explore how Enlightenment debates about commerce and its relation to
republics were remade by socio-economic, political, and intellectual transformations of the 19th
century into debates about industrial capitalism and its relation to democracy, debates that were,
in turn, the starting point for many research agendas in 20th century social science.

Required Texts Ordered for Purchase

Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, trans and ed. A. Cohler, B. Miller, H. Stone (Cambridge
University Press, 1989)
David Hume, Political Essays, ed. K. Hasskonssen (Cambridge University Press, 1994)
Jean Jacques Rousseau, Basic Political Writings, 2nd edition, trans. D. Cress (Hackett, 2012)
Immanuel Kant, Political Writings, ed. H. Reiss (Cambridge University Press, 1991)
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, trans. H. Mansfield and D. Winthrop (Chicago
University Press, 2000)
John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy, Vols 2-3 in Collected Works of John Stuart
Mill (Liberty Fund, 2006)
Karl Marx, The Marx-Engels Reader (2nd ed.), ed. R. Tucker (Norton, 1978)
Max Weber, Political Writings, eds. P. Lassman and R. Speiers (Cambridge UP, 1994)
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, trans. Stephen Kalberg (Oxford
University Press, 2010)
The Mill volumes can alternatively be accessed free online at http://oll.libertyfund.org. Short
readings (ex. from Constant) not in assigned texts will be made available electronically.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of completing this course, students will be able to:
 Identify and explain core concepts and claims of prominent modern Western political and
social theorists
 Analytically contrast and critique arguments made by different theorists across a range of
political, economic, and social topics
 Compare the concepts, claims, arguments, and approaches of various canonical theorists
with recent social scientific work they have been introduced to in other classes to identify
parallels and divergences in the continuing development of the modern social sciences
 Craft and support synthetic historical interpretations of major changes within European
political and social thought from the Enlightenment through World War One

Course Requirements and Grading

Reading and Discussion: The reading for this course is demanding with 170-200 challenging
pages assigned for each week. In order for you and your classmates to get the most out of our
seminar meetings you must make time to read the assigned material carefully and completely,
and to reflect on what you have read before class.

Paper(s): You may choose to write either two shorter (12-15 pages) papers based on assigned
readings alone, or one longer research paper (25-30 pages) that also uses unassigned works by
thinkers we read and/or secondary literature on those thinkers. If you chose the first option, the
first paper is due Monday March 4. If you chose the second option the details of the topic and
type of research paper you will write should be discussed and agreed on with me. Under either
option the final paper is due Monday May 6. Papers are to be turned into my box in the political
science department office (440 Monroe) before the office closes at 5pm.

Grading: Your paper(s) will count for 80% of your grade and productive participation in seminar
discussion, with the evidence it shows of your reading, will count for the remaining 20%.

Academic Integrity
I strongly support, and do report violations of, the GW Code of Academic Integrity. It states:
“Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one’s own
work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate
authorization, and the fabrication of information.” For the remainder of the code, see:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html. If you have questions about the appropriate use and
citation of sources, please come see me in office hours before you turn in your work.
 COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

1/18 Kant: “An Answer to the Question: ‘What is Enlightenment?’”

Constant: “The Liberty of the Ancients compared with that of the Moderns”
Tocqueville: Democracy in America, Vol. 1: Introduction

PART ONE: THE SCIENCE OF POLITICS

IN THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

1/25 Montesquieu: Spirit of the Laws, Author’s Foreword, Preface, Bks 2-5, Bk 8 (ch 1-10, 15-
21), Bk 9, Bk 11, Bk 12 (ch 1-2), Bk 19 (ch 4, 27)
Hume: Political Essays, 1-3, 5, 7, 19

2/1 Hume: Political Essays, 10-16, 18, 21

Montesquieu: Spirit of the Laws, Bk 7 (ch 1-7), Bk 14 (ch 1-9), Bk 17, Bk 18 (ch 1-17), Bk 20,
Bk 21 (ch 1-5, 14, 17-23), Bk 22 (ch 1-8, 14-22)

2/8 Rousseau: Discourse on Inequality, Preface, Intro, Parts 1 & 2, Notes ix, xv, xvi
Rousseau: “State of War”
Rousseau: On the Social Contract, Bk I
Montesquieu: Spirit of the Laws, Bk 1, Bk 10 (ch 1-4), Bk 15 (ch 1-9), Bk 26 (ch 1, 3, 6, 15-16,
20-23)
Hume: Political Essays, 4, 23-24

2/15 Hume: Political Essays, 27

Rousseau: Discourse on Inequality, Epistle Dedicatory
Rousseau: Discourse on Political Economy
Rousseau: On the Social Contract, Bks II-IV
Rousseau: Considerations on the Government of Poland, Ch 3-5, Ch 7 (§1-19), Ch 11 (§1-9)

2/22 Kant: “Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose,” “Theory and Practice,”
“Perpetual Peace,” selections from Metaphysics of Morals and Contest of Faculties
Constant: The Spirit of Conquest

PART TWO: THE SCIENCE OF POLITICS

IN THE AGE OF DEMOCRACY AND INDUSTRY

3/1 Constant: Principles of Politics, Bk X “On the Action of Government with regard to
Property” (access via http://oll.libertyfund.org/)
Tocqueville: Democracy in America, Vol. 1: Part 1 (ch 2-4, ch 5 [pp. 56-65, 82-93],
ch 8 [pp. 143-61]), Part 2 (ch 1-4, ch 5 [pp. 187-99, 212-20], ch 6-8)

3/4 First paper due if following two-paper option

3/8 Tocqueville: Democracy in America, Vol. 1: Part 2 (ch 9, ch 10 [pp. 384-96])
Vol. 2: Notice, Part I (ch 1-2, ch 5, ch 9, ch 11), Part 2 (ch 1-19), Part 3 (ch 5, ch 21)
Marx: “On the Jewish Question” (p. 26-52), “Theses on Feuerbach” (p. 143-45) [Note: all Marx
readings here and in subsequent weeks refer to pages in Tucker ed., Marx-Engels Reader]
Weber: “The Protestant Sects and the Spirit of Capitalism” (in Kalberg ed)

3/15 No class (Spring Break)

3/22 Tocqueville: Democracy in America, Vol. 2: Part 3 (ch 20, 22), Part 4 (all)
Mill: “De Tocqueville on Democracy in America [II],” pp. 155-59, 163-70 (to break near top),
190 (from end of quote)-200 (end at asterisks). Access in Collected Works Vol. 18 via OLL.
Mill: Principles of Political Economy, Preface (p. xci-xcii), Prelim. Remarks; Bk 1 (ch 7, ch 8
[§1, §4-6], ch 9 [§1-3]); Bk 3 (ch 17 [§3-5]); Bk 4 (ch 1); Bk 5 (ch 1, ch 8, ch 9 [§1, §5], ch 11)

3/29 Tocqueville: Democracy in America, Vol. 2: Part 2 (ch 20), Part 3 (ch 7)
Marx: “For a Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing” (p. 12-15), “Contribution to the
Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction” (p. 53-65), “Manifesto of the Communist
Party” (p. 469-500)
Mill: Principles of Political Economy, Preface to 3rd ed. (p. xciii), Bk 2 (ch 1-4), Bk 4 (ch 7),
Bk 5 (ch 10 [§5])
Weber: “Socialism” (p. 272-303 in Lassman and Speirs eds., hereafter L & S)

4/5 Mill: Principles of Political Economy, Bk 1 (ch 1[§1, §3], ch 2 [§1], ch 3, ch 4 [§1-2], ch 5
[§1-6], ch 6, ch 10-11); Bk 2 (ch 11 [§1, §3], ch 12 [§1-2], ch 13, ch 15); Bk 4 (ch 4-6)
Marx: “Wage Labour and Capital” (p. 203-17), Grundrisse (p. 222-28, 232-36, 276-78, 292-93)

4/12 No class (professor attending conference)

4/19 Mill: Principles of Political Economy, Bk 3 (ch 1-3, ch 4 [§1-5], ch 6-7, ch 15)
Marx: Grundrisse (p. 236-44), “Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy”
(p. 3-6), Capital Vol. 1 (p. 294-438)

4/26 Weber: “Prefatory Remarks to Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion” (in Kalberg
ed.), The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (in Kalberg ed.)

4/30 Tuesday Make-Up Day Weber: “Between Two Laws” (p. 75-79 in L & S), Selections from
“Parliament and Government in Germany under a New Political Order” (p. 130-177, 196-233,
267-271 in L & S), “The President of the Reich” (p. 304-05 in L & S), “The Profession and
Vocation of Politics” (p. 309-369 in L & S)

5/6 Seminar paper (or second paper if doing two-paper option) due