Tag: History of Political Philosophy

Books

Review of The Machiavellian Moment

– Review of The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic Republican Tradition, by J. G. A. Pocock, American Political Science Review, vol. 71 (1977): 1151-52.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue

– Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue: Classical Tradition and Humanist Innovation, by D. Marsh, Review of Metaphysics, vol. 34 (June 1981): 794-95.

Machiavelli’s The Prince

– A new translation with introduction, University of Chicago Press, 1985; second edition, with corrections and a glossary, 1998.

Edmund Burke

– "Edmund Burke," History of Political Philosophy, Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, eds., 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: For almost all his adult life, Burke was a politician; for almost thirty years he was a member of the House of Commons, busy with the affairs of his party in the daily management… More

Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power

– The Free Press, 1989; paperback edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (April 1, 1993)
Excerpt: To understand the modern doctrine of executive power, we need to know, at least approximately, what executive power is. It might at first seem best to go directly to the thing and… More

Dewey, All-Out Democrat

– "Dewey, All-Out Democrat," review of John Dewey and American Democracy, by Robert B. Westbrook, Times Literary Supplement, 24 January 1992, 26.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism

– "Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism," interview in Harvard Review of Philosophy, Spring 1993, pp. 30-47.
Excerpt: HRP: What, in your view, is political philosophy and why should students and others care about it? Mansfield: Let me answer from the standpoint of philosophy. I would saythat… More

Political Theory as Historical Artifact

– "Political Theory as Historical Artifact," review of The Descent of Political Theory, by John G. Gunnell, Review of Politics, vol. 57 (1995): 372-74.

Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress

– "Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress," History and the Idea of Progress, Arthur Melzer, jerry Weinberger, and Richard Zinman, eds., Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995.

Machiavelli’s Virtue

– University Of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (March 25, 1998)
Excerpt: Machiavelli’s political science has not received the attention it deserves. All commentators are attracted, with a force they often seem not to understand, by the question of… More

Response to Francis Fukuyama’s ‘Second Thoughts’

– "Response to Francis Fukuyama's 'Second Thoughts'," National Interest, no. 56 (Summer 1999): 34-35.
Excerpt: It is a pleasure to comment again on Fukuyama’s remarkable article of ten years ago. I continue to think “The End of History” to be an overinterpretation of the… More

A Student’s Guide to Political Philosophy

– Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2001.
Excerpt: Political Philosophy is found in great books—those by Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau and others of the highest rank—and in books by professors. You should spend much more… More

The Arts of Rule Eds. Krause/McGrail

The Arts of Rule: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Sharon R. Krause and Mary Ann McGrail, eds., Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009.
Excerpt: This is a book about the arts of rule. It has been created for the purpose of honoring Harvey C. Mansfield, who has taught so many of us so much about these arts. Above all, he has… More

Friendship: Allan Bloom and Harvey Mansfield

– Video, Big Think, 5 May 2009. Time 5:46
Allan Bloom and Mansfield were close friends. Many of their students were lucky enough to study with both of them, encouraged by the other.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More

Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?

– Harvey C. Mansfield "Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?" Panel hosted by Program on Constitutional Government, Harvard University, September 19, 2013.
Panel 1 (of 4) from a conference on the 500th anniversary of the writing of Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, held on Thursday, September 19, 2013 and hosted by the Program on… More

Secret Teaching

– Harvey Mansfield, "Secret Teaching," Claremont Review of Books, Spring: 2015.
Harvey Mansfield reviews Arthur Melzer’s Philosophy Between the Lines in the Spring 2015 Claremont Review of Books. Excerpt: It is not easy to say just how good a book Arthur… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield X

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 10), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: September 26, 2016.
Mansfield discusses crime and mystery novels (including those by Agatha Christie, Bill James, and Donald Westlake), P.G. Wodehouse, J.Q. Wilson, Winston Churchill as writer, and Jonathan… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield XIII

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 13), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: August 14, 2017.  
Bill Kristol interviews Harvey Mansfield about Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) and particularly his masterwork, Gulliver’s Travels. In this Conversation, Mansfield provides an in-depth… More

Essays

Review of The Machiavellian Moment

– Review of The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic Republican Tradition, by J. G. A. Pocock, American Political Science Review, vol. 71 (1977): 1151-52.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue

– Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue: Classical Tradition and Humanist Innovation, by D. Marsh, Review of Metaphysics, vol. 34 (June 1981): 794-95.

Machiavelli’s The Prince

– A new translation with introduction, University of Chicago Press, 1985; second edition, with corrections and a glossary, 1998.

Edmund Burke

– "Edmund Burke," History of Political Philosophy, Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, eds., 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: For almost all his adult life, Burke was a politician; for almost thirty years he was a member of the House of Commons, busy with the affairs of his party in the daily management… More

Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power

– The Free Press, 1989; paperback edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (April 1, 1993)
Excerpt: To understand the modern doctrine of executive power, we need to know, at least approximately, what executive power is. It might at first seem best to go directly to the thing and… More

Dewey, All-Out Democrat

– "Dewey, All-Out Democrat," review of John Dewey and American Democracy, by Robert B. Westbrook, Times Literary Supplement, 24 January 1992, 26.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism

– "Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism," interview in Harvard Review of Philosophy, Spring 1993, pp. 30-47.
Excerpt: HRP: What, in your view, is political philosophy and why should students and others care about it? Mansfield: Let me answer from the standpoint of philosophy. I would saythat… More

Political Theory as Historical Artifact

– "Political Theory as Historical Artifact," review of The Descent of Political Theory, by John G. Gunnell, Review of Politics, vol. 57 (1995): 372-74.

Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress

– "Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress," History and the Idea of Progress, Arthur Melzer, jerry Weinberger, and Richard Zinman, eds., Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995.

Machiavelli’s Virtue

– University Of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (March 25, 1998)
Excerpt: Machiavelli’s political science has not received the attention it deserves. All commentators are attracted, with a force they often seem not to understand, by the question of… More

Response to Francis Fukuyama’s ‘Second Thoughts’

– "Response to Francis Fukuyama's 'Second Thoughts'," National Interest, no. 56 (Summer 1999): 34-35.
Excerpt: It is a pleasure to comment again on Fukuyama’s remarkable article of ten years ago. I continue to think “The End of History” to be an overinterpretation of the… More

A Student’s Guide to Political Philosophy

– Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2001.
Excerpt: Political Philosophy is found in great books—those by Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau and others of the highest rank—and in books by professors. You should spend much more… More

The Arts of Rule Eds. Krause/McGrail

The Arts of Rule: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Sharon R. Krause and Mary Ann McGrail, eds., Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009.
Excerpt: This is a book about the arts of rule. It has been created for the purpose of honoring Harvey C. Mansfield, who has taught so many of us so much about these arts. Above all, he has… More

Friendship: Allan Bloom and Harvey Mansfield

– Video, Big Think, 5 May 2009. Time 5:46
Allan Bloom and Mansfield were close friends. Many of their students were lucky enough to study with both of them, encouraged by the other.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More

Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?

– Harvey C. Mansfield "Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?" Panel hosted by Program on Constitutional Government, Harvard University, September 19, 2013.
Panel 1 (of 4) from a conference on the 500th anniversary of the writing of Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, held on Thursday, September 19, 2013 and hosted by the Program on… More

Secret Teaching

– Harvey Mansfield, "Secret Teaching," Claremont Review of Books, Spring: 2015.
Harvey Mansfield reviews Arthur Melzer’s Philosophy Between the Lines in the Spring 2015 Claremont Review of Books. Excerpt: It is not easy to say just how good a book Arthur… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield X

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 10), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: September 26, 2016.
Mansfield discusses crime and mystery novels (including those by Agatha Christie, Bill James, and Donald Westlake), P.G. Wodehouse, J.Q. Wilson, Winston Churchill as writer, and Jonathan… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield XIII

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 13), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: August 14, 2017.  
Bill Kristol interviews Harvey Mansfield about Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) and particularly his masterwork, Gulliver’s Travels. In this Conversation, Mansfield provides an in-depth… More

Commentary

Review of The Machiavellian Moment

– Review of The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic Republican Tradition, by J. G. A. Pocock, American Political Science Review, vol. 71 (1977): 1151-52.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue

– Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue: Classical Tradition and Humanist Innovation, by D. Marsh, Review of Metaphysics, vol. 34 (June 1981): 794-95.

Machiavelli’s The Prince

– A new translation with introduction, University of Chicago Press, 1985; second edition, with corrections and a glossary, 1998.

Edmund Burke

– "Edmund Burke," History of Political Philosophy, Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, eds., 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: For almost all his adult life, Burke was a politician; for almost thirty years he was a member of the House of Commons, busy with the affairs of his party in the daily management… More

Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power

– The Free Press, 1989; paperback edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (April 1, 1993)
Excerpt: To understand the modern doctrine of executive power, we need to know, at least approximately, what executive power is. It might at first seem best to go directly to the thing and… More

Dewey, All-Out Democrat

– "Dewey, All-Out Democrat," review of John Dewey and American Democracy, by Robert B. Westbrook, Times Literary Supplement, 24 January 1992, 26.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism

– "Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism," interview in Harvard Review of Philosophy, Spring 1993, pp. 30-47.
Excerpt: HRP: What, in your view, is political philosophy and why should students and others care about it? Mansfield: Let me answer from the standpoint of philosophy. I would saythat… More

Political Theory as Historical Artifact

– "Political Theory as Historical Artifact," review of The Descent of Political Theory, by John G. Gunnell, Review of Politics, vol. 57 (1995): 372-74.

Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress

– "Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress," History and the Idea of Progress, Arthur Melzer, jerry Weinberger, and Richard Zinman, eds., Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995.

Machiavelli’s Virtue

– University Of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (March 25, 1998)
Excerpt: Machiavelli’s political science has not received the attention it deserves. All commentators are attracted, with a force they often seem not to understand, by the question of… More

Response to Francis Fukuyama’s ‘Second Thoughts’

– "Response to Francis Fukuyama's 'Second Thoughts'," National Interest, no. 56 (Summer 1999): 34-35.
Excerpt: It is a pleasure to comment again on Fukuyama’s remarkable article of ten years ago. I continue to think “The End of History” to be an overinterpretation of the… More

A Student’s Guide to Political Philosophy

– Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2001.
Excerpt: Political Philosophy is found in great books—those by Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau and others of the highest rank—and in books by professors. You should spend much more… More

The Arts of Rule Eds. Krause/McGrail

The Arts of Rule: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Sharon R. Krause and Mary Ann McGrail, eds., Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009.
Excerpt: This is a book about the arts of rule. It has been created for the purpose of honoring Harvey C. Mansfield, who has taught so many of us so much about these arts. Above all, he has… More

Friendship: Allan Bloom and Harvey Mansfield

– Video, Big Think, 5 May 2009. Time 5:46
Allan Bloom and Mansfield were close friends. Many of their students were lucky enough to study with both of them, encouraged by the other.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More

Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?

– Harvey C. Mansfield "Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?" Panel hosted by Program on Constitutional Government, Harvard University, September 19, 2013.
Panel 1 (of 4) from a conference on the 500th anniversary of the writing of Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, held on Thursday, September 19, 2013 and hosted by the Program on… More

Secret Teaching

– Harvey Mansfield, "Secret Teaching," Claremont Review of Books, Spring: 2015.
Harvey Mansfield reviews Arthur Melzer’s Philosophy Between the Lines in the Spring 2015 Claremont Review of Books. Excerpt: It is not easy to say just how good a book Arthur… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield X

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 10), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: September 26, 2016.
Mansfield discusses crime and mystery novels (including those by Agatha Christie, Bill James, and Donald Westlake), P.G. Wodehouse, J.Q. Wilson, Winston Churchill as writer, and Jonathan… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield XIII

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 13), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: August 14, 2017.  
Bill Kristol interviews Harvey Mansfield about Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) and particularly his masterwork, Gulliver’s Travels. In this Conversation, Mansfield provides an in-depth… More

Multimedia

Review of The Machiavellian Moment

– Review of The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic Republican Tradition, by J. G. A. Pocock, American Political Science Review, vol. 71 (1977): 1151-52.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue

– Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue: Classical Tradition and Humanist Innovation, by D. Marsh, Review of Metaphysics, vol. 34 (June 1981): 794-95.

Machiavelli’s The Prince

– A new translation with introduction, University of Chicago Press, 1985; second edition, with corrections and a glossary, 1998.

Edmund Burke

– "Edmund Burke," History of Political Philosophy, Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, eds., 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: For almost all his adult life, Burke was a politician; for almost thirty years he was a member of the House of Commons, busy with the affairs of his party in the daily management… More

Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power

– The Free Press, 1989; paperback edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (April 1, 1993)
Excerpt: To understand the modern doctrine of executive power, we need to know, at least approximately, what executive power is. It might at first seem best to go directly to the thing and… More

Dewey, All-Out Democrat

– "Dewey, All-Out Democrat," review of John Dewey and American Democracy, by Robert B. Westbrook, Times Literary Supplement, 24 January 1992, 26.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism

– "Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism," interview in Harvard Review of Philosophy, Spring 1993, pp. 30-47.
Excerpt: HRP: What, in your view, is political philosophy and why should students and others care about it? Mansfield: Let me answer from the standpoint of philosophy. I would saythat… More

Political Theory as Historical Artifact

– "Political Theory as Historical Artifact," review of The Descent of Political Theory, by John G. Gunnell, Review of Politics, vol. 57 (1995): 372-74.

Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress

– "Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress," History and the Idea of Progress, Arthur Melzer, jerry Weinberger, and Richard Zinman, eds., Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995.

Machiavelli’s Virtue

– University Of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (March 25, 1998)
Excerpt: Machiavelli’s political science has not received the attention it deserves. All commentators are attracted, with a force they often seem not to understand, by the question of… More

Response to Francis Fukuyama’s ‘Second Thoughts’

– "Response to Francis Fukuyama's 'Second Thoughts'," National Interest, no. 56 (Summer 1999): 34-35.
Excerpt: It is a pleasure to comment again on Fukuyama’s remarkable article of ten years ago. I continue to think “The End of History” to be an overinterpretation of the… More

A Student’s Guide to Political Philosophy

– Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2001.
Excerpt: Political Philosophy is found in great books—those by Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau and others of the highest rank—and in books by professors. You should spend much more… More

The Arts of Rule Eds. Krause/McGrail

The Arts of Rule: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Sharon R. Krause and Mary Ann McGrail, eds., Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009.
Excerpt: This is a book about the arts of rule. It has been created for the purpose of honoring Harvey C. Mansfield, who has taught so many of us so much about these arts. Above all, he has… More

Friendship: Allan Bloom and Harvey Mansfield

– Video, Big Think, 5 May 2009. Time 5:46
Allan Bloom and Mansfield were close friends. Many of their students were lucky enough to study with both of them, encouraged by the other.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More

Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?

– Harvey C. Mansfield "Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?" Panel hosted by Program on Constitutional Government, Harvard University, September 19, 2013.
Panel 1 (of 4) from a conference on the 500th anniversary of the writing of Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, held on Thursday, September 19, 2013 and hosted by the Program on… More

Secret Teaching

– Harvey Mansfield, "Secret Teaching," Claremont Review of Books, Spring: 2015.
Harvey Mansfield reviews Arthur Melzer’s Philosophy Between the Lines in the Spring 2015 Claremont Review of Books. Excerpt: It is not easy to say just how good a book Arthur… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield X

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 10), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: September 26, 2016.
Mansfield discusses crime and mystery novels (including those by Agatha Christie, Bill James, and Donald Westlake), P.G. Wodehouse, J.Q. Wilson, Winston Churchill as writer, and Jonathan… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield XIII

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 13), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: August 14, 2017.  
Bill Kristol interviews Harvey Mansfield about Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) and particularly his masterwork, Gulliver’s Travels. In this Conversation, Mansfield provides an in-depth… More

Teaching

Review of The Machiavellian Moment

– Review of The Machiavellian Moment: Florentine Political Thought and the Atlantic Republican Tradition, by J. G. A. Pocock, American Political Science Review, vol. 71 (1977): 1151-52.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue

– Review of The Quattrocento Dialogue: Classical Tradition and Humanist Innovation, by D. Marsh, Review of Metaphysics, vol. 34 (June 1981): 794-95.

Machiavelli’s The Prince

– A new translation with introduction, University of Chicago Press, 1985; second edition, with corrections and a glossary, 1998.

Edmund Burke

– "Edmund Burke," History of Political Philosophy, Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, eds., 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Excerpt: For almost all his adult life, Burke was a politician; for almost thirty years he was a member of the House of Commons, busy with the affairs of his party in the daily management… More

Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power

– The Free Press, 1989; paperback edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (April 1, 1993)
Excerpt: To understand the modern doctrine of executive power, we need to know, at least approximately, what executive power is. It might at first seem best to go directly to the thing and… More

Dewey, All-Out Democrat

– "Dewey, All-Out Democrat," review of John Dewey and American Democracy, by Robert B. Westbrook, Times Literary Supplement, 24 January 1992, 26.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism

– "Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Question of Conservatism," interview in Harvard Review of Philosophy, Spring 1993, pp. 30-47.
Excerpt: HRP: What, in your view, is political philosophy and why should students and others care about it? Mansfield: Let me answer from the standpoint of philosophy. I would saythat… More

Political Theory as Historical Artifact

– "Political Theory as Historical Artifact," review of The Descent of Political Theory, by John G. Gunnell, Review of Politics, vol. 57 (1995): 372-74.

Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress

– "Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress," History and the Idea of Progress, Arthur Melzer, jerry Weinberger, and Richard Zinman, eds., Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995.

Machiavelli’s Virtue

– University Of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (March 25, 1998)
Excerpt: Machiavelli’s political science has not received the attention it deserves. All commentators are attracted, with a force they often seem not to understand, by the question of… More

Response to Francis Fukuyama’s ‘Second Thoughts’

– "Response to Francis Fukuyama's 'Second Thoughts'," National Interest, no. 56 (Summer 1999): 34-35.
Excerpt: It is a pleasure to comment again on Fukuyama’s remarkable article of ten years ago. I continue to think “The End of History” to be an overinterpretation of the… More

A Student’s Guide to Political Philosophy

– Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2001.
Excerpt: Political Philosophy is found in great books—those by Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau and others of the highest rank—and in books by professors. You should spend much more… More

The Arts of Rule Eds. Krause/McGrail

The Arts of Rule: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Sharon R. Krause and Mary Ann McGrail, eds., Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2009.
Excerpt: This is a book about the arts of rule. It has been created for the purpose of honoring Harvey C. Mansfield, who has taught so many of us so much about these arts. Above all, he has… More

Friendship: Allan Bloom and Harvey Mansfield

– Video, Big Think, 5 May 2009. Time 5:46
Allan Bloom and Mansfield were close friends. Many of their students were lucky enough to study with both of them, encouraged by the other.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More

Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?

– Harvey C. Mansfield "Is Machiavelli a Philosopher?" Panel hosted by Program on Constitutional Government, Harvard University, September 19, 2013.
Panel 1 (of 4) from a conference on the 500th anniversary of the writing of Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, held on Thursday, September 19, 2013 and hosted by the Program on… More

Secret Teaching

– Harvey Mansfield, "Secret Teaching," Claremont Review of Books, Spring: 2015.
Harvey Mansfield reviews Arthur Melzer’s Philosophy Between the Lines in the Spring 2015 Claremont Review of Books. Excerpt: It is not easy to say just how good a book Arthur… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield X

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 10), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: September 26, 2016.
Mansfield discusses crime and mystery novels (including those by Agatha Christie, Bill James, and Donald Westlake), P.G. Wodehouse, J.Q. Wilson, Winston Churchill as writer, and Jonathan… More

Conversations with Bill Kristol: Harvey Mansfield XIII

– Harvey Mansfield (Interview 13), Conversations with Bill Kristol, Released: August 14, 2017.  
Bill Kristol interviews Harvey Mansfield about Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) and particularly his masterwork, Gulliver’s Travels. In this Conversation, Mansfield provides an in-depth… More