Suchergebnisse

The germans, usually thorough in their scholarship, have perhaps been nowhere more so than in the exploration of their own country's history. All the more surprising, therefore, is the comparative neglect which has been the fate of one of the most significant figures in all of modem German history: Prince Hardenberg. The title that he held for twelve years would alone be enough to suggest that he was a historical personage of some importance, for he was Chancellor of Prussia, the first man, and (except for two insignificant and ephemeral successors) the only man before Bismarck, to be so designated. (To be exact, Bismarck to begin with was Minister-President of Prussia, and became Chancellor of the Germany that he created.) But there is much more to Hardenberg than his title. His career culminated in those revolutionary decades when not France only but all Europe was at the crossroads, when, having been shaken loose to a greater or lesser degree from the accustomed routine of the ancien rigime, each country was faced with the necessity of either undertaking considerable repairs in the old structure, or venturing in some direction into uncharted political territory. Hardenberg was destined to play an important, in many respects a decisive part in determining Prussia's choice, a choice of which it is nothing more than sober fact to say that it has not ceased to affect European and world politics almost a century and a half later.

The relationship of the world of ideas to the world of events would appear to be securely established today. It is generally acknowledged that ideas "have consequences," and that in turn they are themselves consequences of events. But recent preoccupation with this problem has perhaps obscured an equally fruitful field of investigation, namely, that of the horizontal relationship among ideas in different areas of thought. I propose to examine here the relationship and the consistency between John Locke's general philosophy and his political theory. In the main, this task resolves itself into a comparison and correlation of the Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke's chief philosophical work, with his Second Treatise of Civil Government, his principal work in political theory; but I have made use also of other writings.My problem has been considerably complicated by Lock's failure to commit himself unequivocally on several of the most crucial questions to be discussed. He frequently used imprecise language, and, regrettably, sometimes made plainly contradictory statements. These lapses reflect a deep-seated unwillingness in Locke to pursue a line of thought to an unattractive conclusion, both in philosophy and in political theory.