Jouvenel on Politics and Political Science in America

In: The political science reviewer: an annual review of books, Band 32, S. 76-92

Abstract

A contribution to a symposium on Bertrand de Jouvenel highlights his appreciation of American political institutions. Jouvenel recognized the enormous power accessible in American society & saw basic restraints on government as political & moral necessities. However, he was a "pessimistic evolutionist" who stressed that restraining Power required "untimely wisdom and timely prudence." A champion of the politics of liberty, Jouvenel contended that the emphasis on an individualistic view of human nature was a critical flaw in American society. He argued that the Lockean notion of individual rights as separate from politics failed as a restraint on Power & political authority could only be curbed within & by law. Ways in which Jouvenel's thinking was in conflict with the New Deal are examined, along with his criticisms of the direction of political science in America; the political/constitutional challenge of balancing & stabilizing forces; the relationship between Power & interest groups; Jouvenel's regard for American political parties; & his contention that political liberty requires the "formalization" of politics. J. Lindroth