Harrington, James (1611–77)

Harrington was the premier English republican political theorist. His The Commonwealth of Oceana (1656), published soon after the Civil War, analysed the collapse of monarchy and recommended institutions for a perfect commonwealth. He argued that forms of government were shaped by modes of land tenure; the decline of the feudal aristocracy and rise of the gentry rendered monarchy inviable. His proposed republic entailed regular elections for all public offices and secret ballots among a citizenry of independent gentlemen. Harrington influenced English, American and French radicals throughout the eighteenth century. Today he tends to be a talisman for those who would inject an aspect of ‘civic republicanism’ or ‘public virtue’ into contemporary politics, by contrast with the liberal rights theories of the natural jurisprudence tradition.