Constant's distinction between ancient and modern liberty

  What is the nature of Constant's distinction between ancient and modern liberty and how does this distinction inform the constitutional recommendations Constant makes in his Principles of Politics? How important do you think Constant's arguments are? Wilhelm von Humboldt and the Liberty of the individual When J.S.Mill published On Liberty he began his text with a quotation from Wilhelm von Humboldts’sThe Limits of State Action. Not only this but Mill’s broader argument was infused with ideas taken from Humboldt’s text. Here then is a German version of classical liberalism? But are there any specific German dimensions to this argument? And what does Humboldt contribute to the broader traditions of liberal thought? Specifically, Humboldt raises important questions not only about the nature of human liberty but the purposes it serves. Key Reading Our key text is Humboldt’s The Limits of State Authority. This is readily available in a cheap Liberty Fund edition. It has a long and very useful introduction by the late John Burrow. This also contains a bibliography. You should try to read Chapters 1-6. Seminar Questions What is the purpose of Humboldt’s text? Under what circumstances does Humboldt think that an individual can flourish? How does he define this flourishing? What does Humboldt take to be the appropriate functions of the State? Should the State concern itself with the positive welfare of the citizen? What does he take the negative consequences of such welfare to be? General Reading R. Aris, The History of German Political Thought, 1789-1815 Frederick Beiser, Enlightenment, Revolution and Romanticism; The Genesis of Modern German Political Thought W. Bruford, The German Tradition ofSelf-Cultivation L. Krieger, The German Idea of Freedom Friedrich Meinecke, Cosmopolitanism and the National State H.S. Reiss, “Introduction” to Political Thought of the German Romantics Nancy Rosenblum, Another Liberalism: Romanticism and the Reconstruction of Liberal Thought