Classical Republicanism
The ancient account of the free state: liberty as non-domination under law, sustained by the virtue of citizens who rule and are ruled in turn, and always vulnerable to corruption.
Descends from
- Ancient Philosophy6th century BC to 5th century AD
The Roman constitution analyzed by Polybius and Cicero, and the citizen self-rule Aristotle described, are the tradition's founding materials.
Gave rise to
- RepublicanismAncient to present
Machiavelli's Discourses are a commentary on Livy, and the civic humanists read themselves as recovering the ancient constitution rather than inventing a new one.
Aristotle
384–322 BCE
Aristotle was the ancient Greek founder of political science, grounding politics in the conviction that humans are by nature political animals who flourish only in community
ThinkerMarcus Tullius Cicero
106–43 BCE
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman and defender of the Republic whose synthesis of Greek philosophy and Roman civic life became one of the most influential models of republican political thought in the West
ThinkerPolybius
200–118 BCE
The Greek hostage in Rome who explained Roman success by its mixed constitution, and gave republicanism its theory of how balanced government resists decay.
ThinkerXenophon
430–354 BCE
Soldier and student of Socrates who wrote the first mirror for princes, and whose portrait of Cyrus taught Europe how to think about the education of a ruler.