Mme de Staël and Political Liberalism in France

This book sheds light on the unique aspects of ‘communal liberalism’ in Mme de Staël’s writings and considers her contribution to nineteenth-century French liberal political thought. Focusing notably on the ‘Considérations sur les principaux événements de la Révolution française’, it examines the originality of Stael’s liberal philosophy. Rather than contrasting liberalism with either multiculturalism or republicanism, the book argues that Staël’s communal liberalism challenges the conventions of nineteenth-century political thought, notably through her assertion of the need to institutionalize an organic intermediary connecting the two spheres, an idea later advanced by thinkers such as Jürgen Habermas. Offering a critical reappraisal of Staël’s multifaceted work, this book assesses the political impact of her work, arguing that the political influence of the ‘Considérations’ permeates the liberal historiography of the French Revolution up to the present day. Front Matter ....Pages i-x Introduction (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 1-20 Front Matter ....Pages 21-21 Invention of the Political Center as an Ideal: Staël and the Constitutional Monarchy (1789–1795) (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 23-43 Sentiment in Staëlian Political Liberalism: Letters on the Works and Character of J.-J. Rousseau (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 45-56 Staël’s Liberal Republicanism in Reaction to the Discourse on Social Dissolution (1795–1799) (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 57-80 The Role of Civility in Staëlian Political Liberalism (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 81-101 A Liberal Interpretation of the French Revolution: Considerations on the Principal Events of the French Revolution (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 103-124 Front Matter ....Pages 125-125 Reception of Considerations: The Hereditary Second Chamber (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 127-158 Guizot’s and Rémusat’s Reactions to Considerations in 1818 (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 159-177 Barante’s Moment: The Advent of Communal Liberalism in 1829 (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 179-197 Tocqueville and Communal Liberalism (1830–1851) (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 199-217 Democratizing Communal Liberalism Under the Second Empire (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 219-239 Front Matter ....Pages 241-241 The Reception of Considerations: Left-Wing Historians’ Refutation in the 1820s (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 243-259 The Reception of Considerations: A Constitutional Historiography of the French Revolution (1818–1848) (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 261-279 A Constitutional Historiography of the French Revolution After 1848 (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 281-299 Britain in the Liberal Historiography of the French Revolution: Tocqueville and Quinet in Regard to Considerations (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 301-321 Conclusion (Chinatsu Takeda)....Pages 323-332 Back Matter ....Pages 333-366 This book sheds light on the unique aspects of 'communal liberalism' in Mme de Staël's writings and considers her contribution to nineteenth-century French liberal political thought. Focusing notably on the 'Considérations sur les principaux événements de la Révolution française', it examines the originality of Staël's liberal philosophy. Rather than contrasting liberalism with either multiculturalism or republicanism, the book argues that Staël's communal liberalism challenges the conventions of nineteenth-century political thought, notably through her assertion of the need to institutionalize an organic intermediary connecting the two spheres, an idea later advanced by thinkers such as Jurgen Habermas. Offering a critical reappraisal of Staël's multifaceted work, this book assesses the political impact of her work, arguing that the political influence of the 'Considérations' permeates the liberal historiography of the French Revolution up to the present day This book sheds light on the unique aspects of 'communal liberalism' in Mme de Stael's writings and considers her contribution to nineteenth-century French liberal political thought.