"compromise, A Political History"

Transcript

Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02943-9 - Compromise: A Political and Philosophical History Alin Fumurescu Frontmatter More information Compromise A Political and Philosophical History This book offers for the first time a conceptual history of compromise. Alin Fumurescu combines contextual historical analysis of daily parlance and a survey of the usage of the word from the end of the sixteenth century to the beginning of the eighteenth century in both French and English with an analysis of canonical texts in the history of political thought. This work fills a significant gap in the literature about compromise and demonstrates the connection between different understandings of compromise and corresponding differences in understandings of political representation. In addition, Fumurescu addresses two controversial contemporary debates about when compromise is beneficial and when it should be avoided at all costs. A better understanding of the genealogy of compromise offers new venues for rethinking basic assumptions regarding political representation and the relationship between individuals and politics. Alin Fumurescu is visiting assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Tulane University. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02943-9 - Compromise: A Political and Philosophical History Alin Fumurescu Frontmatter More information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02943-9 - Compromise: A Political and Philosophical History Alin Fumurescu Frontmatter More information Compromise A Political and Philosophical History Alin Fumurescu Tulane University © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02943-9 - Compromise: A Political and Philosophical History Alin Fumurescu Frontmatter More information cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Mexico City Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107029439 © Alin Fumurescu 2013 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2013 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Fumurescu, Alin, 1967– author. Compromise : a political and philosophical history / Alin Fumurescu, Tulane University.   pages  cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-107-02943-9 (hardback) 1.  Political science – Philosophy.  2.  Compromise (Ethics)  I.  Title. JA71.F85  2013 302.3–dc23    2012021022 ISBN 978-1-107-02943-9 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02943-9 - Compromise: A Political and Philosophical History Alin Fumurescu Frontmatter More information Contents Acknowledgments 1 Introduction: “In Politics We Have an Art. . .” 1.1. The Opportunity 1.2. The Challenges 1.3. Compromise and Self-Representation 1.4. Compromise and Political Representation 1.5. The Structure of the Argument 1.6. Preliminary Conclusions 2 No Compromise about Compromise 2.1. Compromise before Compromise? 2.2. Compromise: From Method to Principle 2.3. Compromise Without Compromising? 2.4. The (A)Morality of Compromise 2.5. Compromise as a National Feature? 3 The Genealogy of Compromise and Its Vagaries 3.1. Compromissum as Arbitratio 3.2. Compromissum as Electio 3.3. The French Méfiance about Compromise 3.4. The Virtues of British Compromise 4 The Dialectic of the Individual 4.1. The Ambivalent Christian 4.2. One Individual, Two Fora 4.3. Two Fora, One Church 4.4. One Res publica, Two Fora 4.5. Individuals and Representation page vii 1 4 6 9 14 18 22 25 29 36 43 47 56 61 64 68 73 80 91 93 96 100 103 107 v © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02943-9 - Compromise: A Political and Philosophical History Alin Fumurescu Frontmatter More information vi Contents 5 Compromise and Centripetal Individualism 5.1. The Emergence of Centripetal Individualism 5.2. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – Sovereignty: Between Will and Reason 5.3. State versus People 5.4. Centripetal Individualism and Hands-On Politics 6 Compromise and Centrifugal Individualism 6.1. “And the British Being Utterly Divided from the Whole World” 6.2. The Common Weal of Individuals 6.3. Collapsing the Two Fora 6.4. Centrifugal Individualism, Compromise, and Contractualism 6.5. Parliament and Ascending Representation 6.6. Compromise as Political Practice 6.7. The Glorious Compromise 7 The Forgotten Road of Representation: Continental Contractarian Theories 7.1. The French ‘Contracts of Reason’ 7.2. Other Continental Versions of Contract Theory 7.3. French Contractualism after Hobbes and Locke 8 The British Contract as Com-promise 8.1. Patriarchalism and Contractualism 8.2. Republicanism and Contractualism 8.3. The Advent of the ‘New’ Compromise in Politics 9 Conclusions: Compromising the Art of Compromise – The One-Dimensional Man 9.1. Compromise and the Two-Dimensional Man 9.2. Compromise and the One-Dimensional Man 9.3. Compromise and Civil Society 9.4. Compromise and Ascending Representation 9.5. Render Unto Compromise . . . 9.6. The Future of Political Compromise 266 268 271 274 275 280 286 Index 291 © in this web service Cambridge University Press 114 120 131 139 146 152 155 160 163 168 177 184 189 193 199 214 224 231 235 239 247 www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02943-9 - Compromise: A Political and Philosophical History Alin Fumurescu Frontmatter More information Acknowledgments For many (too many) years I was convinced that the ‘acknowledgments’ page found in so many books is merely a polite convention – until I wrote one. It is now clear to me – and, I am convinced, to others as well – that this work would not have been possible absent the support of many who deserve my unconditional gratitude. It would probably be neater to organize my thanks under different categories – people I have benefited from scholarly, financially, emotionally, and the like. However, it would be a futile enterprise, first and foremost because support does not come in neatly organized packages, each with its own label. As a matter of fact, what makes it so great is precisely its boundless generosity: it is not just provided, it is offered; it is not just the display of a rational calculation (although many times it has to be one as well), it is also a ‘habit of the heart.’ Allow me therefore to compromise without compromising. I would like first to thank the members of my doctoral committee at Indiana University, Bloomington: Jeffrey Isaac, Russell Hanson, and William Scheuerman. Without their advice and relentless support there would have been no doctoral dissertation, and thus no book. Aurelian Craiutu has demonstrated over and over again that it is entirely possible to combine criticism with encouragement, and to be a hard-to-please committee chair and a true friend at the same time. Among many other scholars from whose expertise I have benefited these past years, I am also indebted to Quentin Skinner, Nancy Rosenblum, Nannerl Keohane, and Cary Nederman for comments and suggestions that proved crucial at various stages of this process. I can only hope that their enthusiasm for ideas remains as contagious as I feel it was. Michael Zuckert’s help in particular was by far more important that he would care to accept, while the final review of the manuscript during my first year at Tulane University was made vii © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02943-9 - Compromise: A Political and Philosophical History Alin Fumurescu Frontmatter More information viii Acknowledgments possible by the support and  – shall I dare to say it?  – friendship of Martyn Thompson. Last but not least, I have to acknowledge the evidence: regardless of all of the above, this work could not have been completed without the unconditional love and patience of my wife, Anca. After all these years, I could not compromise on this point. To her, therefore, I dedicate this book with all my love. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org