Benjamin Constant and the Birth of French Liberalism

Traditional scholarship on French liberalism has frequently proceeded by defining the core issues and telling a story of their emergence and development. This book takes a different approach: rather than beginning with an a priori definition of liberalism, it focuses on the political thought of Benjamin Constant and Germaine de Stael, the first figures in France to call their thought 'liberal.' Author K. Steven Vincent argues that Constant's distinctive liberal political stance emerged during the Directory and Consulate, earlier than other scholars have claimed. He also demonstrates that Constant's thought was deeply influenced by traditions of sensibilite and pluralism. This book advances a new interpretation of the timing and character of French-and more broadly European-liberalism and contributes to the ongoing debate concerning the place of morality, sociability, and conceptions of the 'self' in modern liberal thought.