The Ship of State: Statecraft and Politics from Ancient Greece to Democratic America
Norma Thompson
Abstract
This book provides a new perspective on the development of political thought from Homer to Machiavelli, Tocqueville, and Gertrude Stein (who is introduced here, for the first time, as a writer of political significance). Providing nuanced readings of key texts by these and other thinkers, it locates a powerful theme: that the political health of organized political communities—from the ancient polis to the modern state to contemporary democracy—requires a balance between masculine and feminine qualities. Although most critics view the Western tradition as a progression away from misogyny and t ... More
This book provides a new perspective on the development of political thought from Homer to Machiavelli, Tocqueville, and Gertrude Stein (who is introduced here, for the first time, as a writer of political significance). Providing nuanced readings of key texts by these and other thinkers, it locates a powerful theme: that the political health of organized political communities—from the ancient polis to the modern state to contemporary democracy—requires a balance between masculine and feminine qualities. Although most critics view the Western tradition as a progression away from misogyny and toward rights for women, the book contends that the need for balance in the political community was well understood in earlier eras, and only now has it been almost entirely overlooked in our focus on surface indications of strict gender equality. It argues that political rhetoric must once again promote the reconciliation of masculine and feminine forces in order to achieve effective politics and statecraft.
Keywords:
political communities,
gender equality,
statecraft,
political thought,
Homer,
Machiavelli,
Tocqueville,
Gertrude Stein,
ancient polis,
misogyny
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2001 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780300088175 |
| Published to Yale Scholarship Online: October 2013 |
DOI:10.12987/yale/9780300088175.001.0001 |
