Jefferson on Liberalism and Anti-Aristocracy

I had the great privilege last night to hear Joyce Appleby speak on the topic of Thomas Jefferson and the Origins of American Parties.  Appleby was articulate and insightful, as one would expect from such an emanent figure in the field of history.  Her basic thesis was that Jefferson challenged the Federalist aristrocracy in the early years of the republic.  The Federalist didn't envision themselves as a political party, but as the government itself. In her talk she gave wonderful examples of the "royal-like" behavior and ceremony of Federalist figures such as Washington, Adams, and of course Hamilton.  The Jeffersonians rose to dismantle that ruling mythology and to push for not just decentralized government, but smaller government (in both scale and scope).

Appleby was very refreshing ... she didn't shy away from the tough questions on Jefferson (e.g., slavery) and she clearly stated the Jeffersonian position on government and how it influenced that nature of political discourse in the US.  But she also talked about how the legacy of Jefferson became so ambiguous that everyone in the modern political scheme can claim (and desires to and often does) to be Jeffersonian (even when they are modern Hamiltonians in practice). Still Jeffersonian can mean something (and should) to us today more than mere political slogans and historical appropriation for the political showcase.

Don Lavoie in his National Economic Planning: What is Left? (1985) makes a very strong case for the pure libertarian attachment of Jeffersonianism as a political ideology for the modern age.  Lavoie's book still ranks as in my top 5 of best books articulating the libertarian case for our time.  In no particular order they would be: Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia; Rothbard's For a New Liberty; Lavoie's National Economic Planning; Chandran Kukathus's The Liberal Archipeligo; and Loren Lomasky's Persons, Rights and the Moral Community.  Of course, there are many classic works that go into making these books -- including those by Smith, Mises and Hayek.  Mises's Liberalism and Hayek's Law, Legislation and Liberty immediately come to mind.  But so would the basic thrust of Jefferson's writings -- from his emphasis on "virtues and talents" in individuals to his warnings about tryants whether at the local, state or federal level.

Comments

[Rafe]

For another robust statement of the libertarian case, check out "Escape from Leviathan" by Jan Lester.
http://www.mises.org/story/648