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Chapter 7 - On Politics and Revolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2019

David Arndt
Affiliation:
St Mary's College, California
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Summary

The last chapter lays out Arendt’s interpretation of the American Revolution and her reading of the Declaration of Independence. She argued that--in the absence of established governments--the American colonists had to govern themselves, and the practical experience of self-government led them to non-theoretical but authentic insights into the nature of power and authority. But instead of rethinking traditional theoretical concepts in light of their experiences, they misconceived their experiences by forcing them into the framework of traditional theoretical concepts. So there was a tension between the implicit insights and the explicit theories of the colonists, Arendt argued: “the old understanding of power and authority...led the new experience of power to be channeled into concepts which had just been vacated.” This tension between implicit insight and explicit theory runs through the Declaration of Independence. Arendt’s reading goes beyond Jefferson’s explicit claims in order to bring to light a non-theoretical but authentic understanding of political power and authority implicit in the text of the Declaration.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • On Politics and Revolution
  • David Arndt, St Mary's College, California
  • Book: Arendt on the Political
  • Online publication: 15 October 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108653282.009
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  • On Politics and Revolution
  • David Arndt, St Mary's College, California
  • Book: Arendt on the Political
  • Online publication: 15 October 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108653282.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • On Politics and Revolution
  • David Arndt, St Mary's College, California
  • Book: Arendt on the Political
  • Online publication: 15 October 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108653282.009
Available formats
×