Political Philosophy: Of Aristocracy. Aristocratic Governments.

Seitenzahl:

362

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531 g

Erschienen bei:

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Kurzbeschreibung

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: OH. III. PROGRESS AND CHANGES OF ARISTOCRACY. 17 CHAPTER III. PROGRESS AND CHANGES OF ARISTOCRACY? OLIGARCHY. Tendency of Aristocratic and Democratic Constitutions to mix with others?Difference in this respect of Despotism?Tendency greatest in Aristocracies?Early pupilage of the people?Their progress to emancipation?Best course for the Aristocracy?Illustration from colonial emancipation?Natural introduction of Oligarchy?Its natural progress to greater exclusiveness?Its natural tendency to dissolution?Examples from the Venetian, Genoese, Siennese, and Lucca Governments. We have in the outset of this discussion remarked, that aristocratic and democratic constitutions have a much greater tendency to mix themselves with one another, and even with monarchical institutions, than either despotic or constitutional monarchies have to ally themselves with those of a popular nature. This arises from the different nature of those several governments. When a despotism is established, all influence, all movement ceases, except that which proceeds from the sovereign; all power, the whole force of the state, centres of necessity in him. The least division of this force, the existence of any opposite will, unconnected with and independent of the monarch, would be destructive of the system. Consequently, the germs do not exist, out of which any popular institutions might grow; there are no elements of gradual change; a single step towards it, however small, would be equivalent to revolt, and, being treated as such, would terminate the effort at once. Change can only arise from some unbearable opposition, or some intrigue in the family or among the connexions of the Prince: this to succeed must be ripened into action; and whatever may have been its origin, it has never any but one res...

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Mehr von:  Henry Brougham Brougham and Vaux, Cambridge Scholars Publishing