Freedom and History: The English Experience
The history of freedom in England is investigated. G. W. F. Hegel's (1956) distinction between formal & real freedom is reviewed, reconceptualizing Hegel's notion of real freedom as "unreal" freedom. It is contended that English chief justice Sir John Fortescue's (1926) distinction between French & English monarchies is representative of the English understanding of freedom. Rather than attributing the privileging of individualism in English politics to the Renaissance or Reformation, it is contended that the establishment of primogeniture & perception that private interests were articulated in the House of Commons are responsible for English freedom. In contrast, the practice of separating inheritances & the peasantry's inclination to support despotic monarchies are identified as the causes of unreal freedom's emergence in historical France. It is concluded that the type of monarchy & the acceptance of Protestantism or Catholicism shaped each nation's realization of freedom. 21 References. J. W. Parker