Economic Opportunity,Civil Society and Political Liberty

This essay explores the dilemmas associated with ‘squaring the circle’ of wealth creation, social cohesion and political freedom in the OECD countries. As the metaphor of square and circle implies, these three essential goals of development are not necessarily compatible and may even conflict with each other, particularly at a time when advancing globalization creates perverse choices. To become and remain competitive in international markets requires a flexible use of resources which threatens social cohesion and political freedom in a number of ways. After analysing these tensions, the essay concludes with six proposals for improving the likelihood that a workable balance between prosperity, democracy and social cohesion can be maintained in advanced industrial societies.     

Restorationist Counter‐Enlightenment: Thomas M'Crie on the Concept of Civil Liberty

Enlightenment notions for Counter‐Enlightenment purposes have not to date been used to provide a comprehensive context for Scottish religious history‐writing in the age of Counter‐Revolution and Restoration. The Evangelical historian and divine Thomas M'Crie's studies on Scottish Reformation history, Life of John Knox and Life of Andrew Melville, published in 1811 and 1819 respectively, exhibit an abundance of historiographical material for research. M'Crie was among the most renowned writers of his own time, but his historical works have been briefly passed over in recent secondary sources. The main purpose of this study is to rescue M'Crie's historical works on the Scottish Reformation past from near oblivion. This article argues that M'Crie produced an apology for the Scottish Reformation, adopting an aggressive style that attacked Scottish Enlightenment historians and thinkers such as William Robertson and David Hume, especially in the matter of their treatment of John Knox and Andrew Melville. M'Crie tried to restore his chosen past in order to influence the religious and political affairs of Scotland. In M'Crie's Counter‐Enlightenment historiography, the concept of civil liberty and Presbyterianism become interchangeable in a Restorationist religio‐political discourse. That is why M'Crie's enthusiasm for the Scottish Reformation constitutes the most representative example of the Presbyterian interpretation, which held its own against Enlightenment influence.     

On Liberty in Talebof's Thought

This article represents Talebof?'s thought on the modern idea of liberty defined in terms of selfishness, selflessness, and selfhood. First, a brief background is set forth in an attempt to show some of the influences on Talebof by others of the Iranian intelligentsia and European philosophers. Having set the stage, his philosophy is represented systematically, as against chronologically. This approach helps to reveal a shortcoming in Talebof?'s philosophy regarding the modern idea of liberty. The shortcoming is evident: Talebof defined liberty in terms of selfishness and selflessness, but then did not dig deep enough to methodically examine selfhood as a more fundamental basis for liberty. The article argues that this shortcoming was caused by a number of factors, including philosophical poverty coupled with natural tendency for reification, and anxiously pragmatic ethos caused by lawlessness under the Qajars and exposure to the hegemonic West. In short, this paper defines the modern idea of liberty, describes Talebof?'s understanding of it, and explains the obstacles that prevented Talebof from setting out a more comprehensive examination of the modern idea of liberty.     

Democratizing the Commonwealth

Despite having been regarded by many as increasingly anachronistic, the Commonwealth continues to be seen as valuable both by its existing members and by those who wish to join it. Given the historical circumstances of its beginning and the informal nature of its operations, it is both necessary and difficult to establish criteria for admitting new members. This article examines how the Commonwealth can manage its enduring appeal, and the prospects for fulfilment of its declared support for the protection of fundamental political values in the face of its commitment to state sovereignty.     

The New Commonwealth

THE COMMONWEALTH IN THE WORLD. J. D. B. Miller. Duckworth, 1958, 25/‐ stg.

THE CABINET IN THE COMMONWEALTH: POST‐WAR DEVELOPMENTS IN AFRICA, THE WEST INDIES AND SOUTHEAST ASIA. H. V. Wiseman. Stevens, 1958, 50/‐ stg.     

新泽西自由公园掠影

正在大地回春、万物复苏的阳春三月,应朋友之邀,利用一个周末,我们驱车75公里,来到了新泽西自由公园(Liberty State Park)。自由公园位于泽西市,占地1211英亩,约等于490公顷,狭长型,三面环水,北部是莫里斯运河大盆地,南部和东部是纽约海湾。新泽西自由公园与纽约曼哈顿只有一河之隔,位置就在自由女神像所在地的自由岛附近,是一处可以眺望曼哈顿天际线的绝佳地方。泽西市是新泽西州的第二大城市,现有人口25万,面积38.9平方公里。这里还是一个集工业、交通及金融为     

Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan and the Theological Origins of Secular International Politics

Abstract

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in Reinhold Niebuhr's scholarship. Many scholars have drawn upon Niebuhr's work in the run up to World War II when drawing analogies to the contemporary struggle with Islamic radicalism. This article explores Niebuhr's writings on Communism in the run up to Vietnam as another possible source for analogies to the current struggle. It concludes with an analysis of contemporary Islamic radicalism using the categories of Niebuhr's analysis. While neither period in Niebuhr's work provides a perfect analogy to the present, there are significant insights to be drawn from this later period in Niebuhr's writing.