Description
The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns by the early 19th Century thinker, revolutionary, and historian by Benjamin Constant
We would like to draw your attention to a foundational work about freedom, democracy, and how government should be structured to protect the individual rights of all: The Liberty of Ancients Compared with that of Moderns by the early 19th Century thinker, revolutionary, and historian Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque.
When Benjamin Constant wrote this text in 1819, the newly formed American Republic was in its infancy, France was struggling to redefine its government following the French Revolution and Napoleon, and countries around the world were reimagining how society should be structured to best represent its citizens. At this pivotal time, Constant looked to the ancient world and its notions of Freedom and Democracy to help define what Freedom meant for his “modern” times.
Constant points out that the idea of Freedom changed over the centuries since the ancients first formulated their notions of representational government. And reading his classic text provokes us to ask what Freedom means for us today. What are the truths that we today believe to be self evident, precious, and essential for us and our society?
