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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Rachel Hammersley
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In The Commonwealth of Oceana James Harrington revolutionized the language of political thought. The novelty and importance of his influential argument about the relationship between the ownership of land and the wielding of political power was recognized by Harrington’s near contemporaries, but this chapter argues that Harrington also enacted a further important transformation on the political language of the day. He revolutionized the ancient notion of mixed government by subtly redefining its key components: monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. At the heart of this transformation was a new emphasis on meritocracy and social mobility, concepts which remain central to the democratic politics of the modern world. Ultimately, Oceana can be read as Harrington’s attempt to produce a revolutionary political language as an essential accompaniment to the revolutionary circumstances through which he was living.
Author(s): Hammersley R
Editor(s): Hammersley, R
Series Editor(s): Davis, JC; Morrow, J
Publication type: Book Chapter
Publication status: Published
Book Title: Revolutionary Moments: Reading Revolutionary Texts
Year: 2015
Pages: 19-26
Print publication date: 22/10/2015
Acceptance date: 01/01/1900
Series Title: Textual Moments in the History of Political Thought
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Place Published: London
URL: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/revolutionary-moments-9781472517203/
Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item
ISBN: 9781472517203
