20 th Century Political Thought Dr. Carl Scott GO 351B, Fall 2010 Office: Ladd 306A, ext. 5235

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1 20 th Century Political Thought Dr. Carl Scott GO 351B, Fall 2010 Office: Ladd 306A, ext Skidmore College cscott1 Note: I do not check phone messages and on weekends. Office hours: MW 4-5, T, 11:15-12:15 and 1:30-2:30, F This course studies the thought of four major political thinkers of the twentieth century: Raymond Aron, Leo Strauss, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and John Rawls. The first three sought to provide alternatives to the historicist and value-neutral political theorizing that dominated the era. For each, such theorizing had paved the way for and weakened resistance to communism and fascism, and had exacerbated more subtly degrading and self-corrosive tendencies at work within modern civilization. We will contrast their more particularistic (and very European) approaches to political thought with the abstract theory of justice provided by John Rawls, whom many regard as the preeminent Anglo-American political theorist of our time, and what is more, as the thinker who has set the agenda and exemplified the method for all genuine political philosophy in our time. Comparing these four thinkers will push us to consider how we can best analyze politics from a philosophical perspective. The course will also deepen our historical understanding of most of the major events of the short ( ) 20 th -century. We will particularly use Raymond Aron s career as a public intellectual in France to allow us to see how philosophers and other political thinkers responded to the turbulent events of the era and had their thought shaped by them. In doing so, we will see how the fields of political theory and international relations often overlap(a feature of political thought also stressed by our study of Rawls), and, we will briefly consider a number of other important thinkers of the century, such as Kojève, Sartre, Maritain, and Hayek. As should be obvious, the course forces us to ponder the key question posed by the 20 th century, which is why, despite all its wonders and advances, its politics produced such unprecedented horrors. And facing that question suggests another: what lessons were learned, and what political wisdom was gained, that might keep comparable horrors from happening in 21 st century? TEXTS Raymond Aron, Thinking Politically: A Liberal in the Age of Ideology Raymond Aron, The Dawn of Universal History Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Solzhenitsyn Reader Leo Strauss, On Tyranny John Rawls, The Law of Peoples --and other readings in reading packet. READING SCHEDULE --For all assignments, pieces not listed with an assigned book are found in the packet. --The capital letters next to certain assignments will be used to parcel out the readings which particular students will use for the outline assignment explained later. --For the Aron assignments, most of the readings from Thinking Politically are listed in italics--they should be regarded as part of the assignment, but not the primary part. Readings in quotations are from the readings packet, from The Dawn of Universal History, or they are otherwise regarded as the primary assignment. 1

2 RAYMOND ARON 1) 9/8 Introduction Young Intellectual of the 1930s, Dark Years ) 9/13 Aron, France, and Democracy s Peril Democratic States and Totalitarian States in Thinking Politically, The Future of Secular Religions Dawn Dark Years ) 9/15 Historical Analysis of WWI and WWII From Sarajevo to Hiroshima Dawn Disillusionments of Liberation ) 9/20 The Soviet Left From Marxism to Stalinism Dawn The Great Schism ) 9/22 Decolonization and Cold War Decolonization The Algerian Tragedy Dawn Nations and Empires Dawn 3-9, Peace and War among Nations, , A B C 6) 9/27 Western Leftism, Libertarianism, and Aronian Liberalism Editor s introduction 3-7 Alexander Solzhenitsyn and European Leftism The Liberal Definition of Liberty: Concerning F.A. Hayek s The Constitution of Liberty D The Left, Steadfast and Unchanging The Committed Observer ) 9/29 Machiavellianism and Foreign Policy French Thought in Exile: Jacques Maritain and the Quarrel over Machiavellianism E --as part of this assignment, skim the marked copy of J. Maritain, The End of Machiavellianism, read if time. On the Morality of Prudence F Clash of Empires , esp On Loathing Tyranny ) 10/4 Political Thought and History Dawn of Universal History Dawn Three Forms of Historical Intelligibility G H 2

3 ALEKSANDR SOLZHENITSYN All assignments but one from the Solzhenitsyn Reader 9) 10/6 Introduction and the GULAG Archipelago GULAG Archipelago selections, Editors Introduction, xviii-xxv 10) 10/11 GULAG Archipelago II GULAG Archipelago selections The Oak and the Calf selection Live Not by Lies! ) 10/13 Literary Theory and Prose Poems Nobel Lecture Miniatures, aka Prose Poems, I J K 12) 10/18 The Red Wheel I Read editors mini-introduction first, From course packet The Red Wheel: August 1914, selections (chapters 1-2, 7, 61-62) From Solzhenitsyn reader--the Red Wheel: August 1914 (chapters 48, 58, 69, 82) November 1916 selections, Templeton Lecture ) 10/20 The Red Wheel II The Red Wheel: November 1916, March 1917, April 1917 selections, ) 10/25 Theory of Nations and the Russian Situation Editors Introduction, xxv-xxxi Repentance and Self-Limitation in the Life of Nations L Russia in Collapse, selections Two Hundred Years Together, selections ) 10/27 The Late 20 th Century Situation Harvard Address Playing on the Strings of Emptiness We Have Ceased to See the Purpose M N 3

4 LEO STRAUSS 16) 11/1 Introduction, and Analysis of Nazism Leo Strauss: An Introduction, Steven Lenzer and William Kristol Leo Strauss, German Nihilism O 17) 11/3 The Art of Writing Leo Strauss, Persecution and the Art of Writing P Leo Strauss: An Introduction, Steven Lenzer and William Kristol Leo Strauss, On Tyranny, Introduction, pp Q 18) 11/8 Xenophon on Tyranny: the Hiero Xenophon, Hiero 3-21 in On Tyranny FIRST PAPER DUE 19) 11/10 Hiero Commentary I Leo Strauss, On Tyranny R 20) 11/15 Hiero Commentary II S Leo Strauss, On Tyranny, 66-91, ( optional but recommended) 21) 11/17 Kojève s Hegelian Alternative and Critique Mark Lilla, chapter on Kojève in The Restless Mind Alexandre Kojève, Tyranny and Wisdom, in On Tyranny T 22) 11/22 Philosophy and Politics: Strauss s Response Leo Strauss, Restatement on Xenophon s Hiero, in On Tyranny U JOHN RAWLS 23) 11/29 Introduction: Justice as Fairness The Law of Peoples ) 12/1 The Ideal Theory of International Relations: First Part The Law of Peoples V W 25) 12/6 The Ideal Theory of International Relations: Second Part The Law of Peoples X 26) 12/8 Non Ideal Theory and Conclusion The Law of Peoples /16 (Thurs) 2nd PAPER DUE by 2:30 pm, in my office. 12/20 (Mon) Final Exam 9am-noon, same room, i.e, Tisch

5 Grade: Essay #1 25% Essay #2 30% Final 25% Participation 15% Outlines 5% Participation: Good participation means you contribute fairly regularly to the quality of class time. This can occur in a number of ways: giving good responses to my discussion questions, coming to class with a question prepared for discussion, asking myself or one of your peers for clarification when needed, (politely) arguing against myself or one of your peers, asking useful questions, or even refraining from jumping in when others have established a useful line of conversation that you can add nothing significant to. The participation grade can also reflect your demeanor. For example, the always-silent-but-noticeably-attentive student will receive a C-. The always-silentbut-seemingly-disengaged student will receive an F. There may be outside lecture events that likewise allow the participation grade to be improved. The grade is not aided by repeatedly participating without evidence of careful thought or without consideration of the good of the class. This class will have more of a seminar-like feel than most, which is why participation will be even more important than normal. Outlines: This assignment will be explained later. Each student will submit 2-3 outlines of particular readings over the course of the semester. I will be teaching a method of outlining texts called Whole, Parts, and Place Final Exam: This will be a comprehensive essay exam. Please do not ask me to reschedule it unless it conflicts with another final or you have some other Skidmore-approved emergency reason. Essays: These are formal essays where you are expected to have an identifiable thesis with arguments to support it. They should demonstrate a command of the text at hand, and a thoughtfulness about the claims made therein. I will hand out topics approximately two weeks before the essays are due, and for both essays you will have the freedom to formulate questions of your own. These are not research papers and you are not required to read any secondary literature. I want you to engage these authors directly. Seven to twelve pages. For grading guidelines, consult p. 5 of the The Writing Requirement in the Government Dept. An essay may be handed in late at the next session (in Dec., 48 hours later) for a penalty of 5% of the grade. Being more than a couple of minutes late to class on due-dates will get you this same penalty. In all situations, ED WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. General Expectations: You are expected to read the assignments carefully and reflectively, remaining open to the possibility that what you are reading is right. Your first duty as an attentive reader is to understand what is being said. This means grasping the argument of the author identifying central claims and seeing how these claims are supported. When you encounter something you 5

6 strongly disagree with, make sure you first understand the argument. You are expected to give reasons for your opinions. Commonsense Rules (Apologies for Having to List Them): You will be attentive in class; that is, you will display the demeanor of one who is interested in the material, who respects his professor, and who is polite to his peers. You will attempt to display this demeanor even when it doesn t match your particular mood. Cell-phones or similar items, food, gum, tobacco products, make-up, and other personal items will not be on your desk, nor in use remember to turn cell phones off. It is very rude to text or otherwise attend to an electronic device during any teacher s class you will be dismissed from class if you do so, and this will be counted as an unexcused absence. You will refrain from going to the restroom or the water-fountain during class, with only emergencies providing exceptions. Four Non-Commonsense Rules: 1) Laptop computers and recording devices are not to be used in class. Exceptions are made only according to Skidmore policy. 2) Hats and hoods are not to be worn in class. 3) Regular (non-alcoholic, obviously!) beverages may be brought to class. 4) I will be utilizing formal address, i.e., Mr. Smith, Ms. Jones, etc., for class purposes. If you refer to another student in class discussion, you will do likewise. You will refer to me as Professor Scott or Dr. Scott. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. All absences must therefore be cleared ahead of time. If you must miss class(and please do so if you are quite sick), you remain responsible for all the material covered that day. After two unexcused absences, each subsequent absence will bring your final grade down by one half of a letter grade. Penalties for repeated tardiness may factor here as well. Academic Honor: I take violations of the honor code very seriously. At minimum, plagiarism will merit a 0 for that assignment, with failure for the course likely. In cases that I deem particularly egregious, I will seek to have you suspended or expelled from Skidmore College. 6