The Limits of Neo-Roman Liberty

Abstract

While writers of the English Civil War abstracted from Roman sources a theory of liberty, the original 'res publica', always under the control of a unified and entrenched oligarchy, presents a threadbare fabric of liberty. Yet an impressive strand of modern republicanism follows this example: Philip Pettit's 'liberty as non-domination' appears to be inimical to notions of government power, overlooking that power is sometimes necessary to protect freedoms. Quentin Skinner sharpens this classical focus on a 'neo-Roman' theory. In Pettit a republican suspicion of popular government underplays contributions to the history of freedom from the Athenian democracy.