The spirit of modern republicanism Book

Pangle attempts to explicate the principles of modern republicanism as they were understood by the American Founders. But he instead succeeds at constructing straw man after straw man, concluding that the supposedly base and egoistical principles on which America was founded were highly problematic and, a la Robert Bork, led to the civilization-detroying tendencies of modern liberalism.

John Locke is the great antagonist of the virtuous and noble in politics, forever desecrating the high achievement of the ancient classical political philosophers. But no attempt is made at thinking about the theological-political problem in relation to Locke's project (or Hobbes's for that matter). Pangle, seemingly unaware of this problem, a problem that was central for Leo Strauss, instead simply carries out his grade school-like project in a tedious and tendentious manner, in which he simply compares and contrasts the surface teachings of the ancients and moderns, with not much thought dedicated to why any of those great thinkers would teach such things. This leads Pangle into some unintentionally humorous and odd discussions, such as when he chides Publius for not including in the pages of The Federalist a theological teaching about the God of the Bible. But just why this is necessary in a series of essays whose immediate goal is to convince the people of New York to support ratifying the Constitution remains unclear. Furthermore, it would have been imprudent for the authors of The Federalist to discuss this matter, especially given the myriad divisions between the various denominations of Christianity in the early American republic. But prudence, an intellectual virtue for Aristotle, is inextricably connected to statesmanship, which is the realm of politics, which Pangle obviously disdains with a passion. It makes one wonder just why Socrates brought philosophy down from the heavens in the first place.

Readers looking for a thoughtful mediation on the principles of the American Founding will have to look elsewhere.