Western Zhou Government and Society

2020 ◽  
pp. 400-435
Author(s):  
Paul Nicholas Vogt
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
State Structure ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
Military Administration ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Zhou

This chapter introduces the state structure and social organization of the Western Zhou period as it is today understood through paleographical, archaeological, and textual sources. Considering the role that the Western Zhou kingdom played in the history of political thought in China, the chapter addresses the classic images of Western Zhou society and governance that have been shaped by ideological constructs, both ancient and modern, as well as how recent work and discoveries have complicated those images. It considers the theoretical underpinnings of Western Zhou kingship, social organization, resource management, and military administration, and, introducing a few of the regional (theoretical) sub-states of the Western Zhou kingdom, it addresses how the practical implementation of those concepts may have varied from time to time and place to place.

A Virtue for Courageous Minds

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurelian Craiutu
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Moral Virtue ◽  
Individual Liberty ◽  
History Of Political Thought ◽  
Common Notion ◽  
History Of ◽  
Benjamin Constant ◽  
Intellectual Foundations

Political moderation is the touchstone of democracy, which could not function without compromise and bargaining, yet it is one of the most understudied concepts in political theory. How can we explain this striking paradox? Why do we often underestimate the virtue of moderation? Seeking to answer these questions, this book examines moderation in modern French political thought and sheds light on the French Revolution and its legacy. The book begins with classical thinkers who extolled the virtues of a moderate approach to politics, such as Aristotle and Cicero. It then shows how Montesquieu inaugurated the modern rebirth of this tradition by laying the intellectual foundations for moderate government. The book looks at important figures such as Jacques Necker, Germaine de Staël, and Benjamin Constant, not only in the context of revolutionary France but throughout Europe. It traces how moderation evolves from an individual moral virtue into a set of institutional arrangements calculated to protect individual liberty, and explores the deep affinity between political moderation and constitutional complexity. The book demonstrates how moderation navigates between political extremes, and it challenges the common notion that moderation is an essentially conservative virtue, stressing instead its eclectic nature. Drawing on a broad range of writings in political theory, the history of political thought, philosophy, and law, the book reveals how the virtue of political moderation can address the profound complexities of the world today.

CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL IDEA OF THE “SOCIAL STATE” IN THE HISTORY OF LEGAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Fedorov
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
State Structure ◽  
Thomas More ◽  
Social State ◽  
Classical Liberal ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

The article is devoted to the problem of the social state as one of the fundamental constitutional principles of the state structure of modern developed countries. The course of historical development of philosophical and legal thought on this problem is considered. The idea of a close connection between the concept of the social state and the ideas of utopian socialism of Thomas More and Henri Saint-Simon is put forward. Liberals also made a significant contribution to the development of the idea of the social state, they argued that the ratio of equality and freedom is a key problem for the classical liberal doctrine. It is concluded that the emergence of the theory of the social state for objective reasons was inevitable, since it is due to the historical development of society.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document