{"product_id":"the-hebrew-republic-jewish-sources-and-the-transformation-of-european-political-thought-9780674062139","title":"The Hebrew Republic: Jewish Sources and the Transformation of European Political Thought","description":"\u003cp\u003eAccording to a commonplace narrative, the rise of modern political thought in the West resulted from secularization--the exclusion of religious arguments from political discourse. But in this pathbreaking work, Eric Nelson argues that this familiar story is wrong. Instead, he contends, political thought in early-modern Europe became less, not more, secular with time, and it was the Christian encounter with Hebrew sources that provoked this radical transformation. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDuring the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Christian scholars began to regard the Hebrew Bible as a political constitution designed by God for the children of Israel. Newly available rabbinic materials became authoritative guides to the institutions and practices of the perfect republic. This thinking resulted in a sweeping reorientation of political commitments. In the book's central chapters, Nelson identifies three transformative claims introduced into European political theory by the Hebrew revival: the argument that republics are the only legitimate regimes; the idea that the state should coercively maintain an egalitarian distribution of property; and the belief that a godly republic would tolerate religious diversity. One major consequence of Nelson's work is that the revolutionary politics of John Milton, James Harrington, and Thomas Hobbes appear in a brand-new light. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNelson demonstrates that central features of modern political thought emerged from an attempt to emulate a constitution designed by God. This paradox, a reminder that while we may live in a secular age, we owe our politics to an age of religious fervor, in turn illuminates fault lines in contemporary political discourse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNelson, Eric:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Eric Nelson is the Robert M. Beren Professor of Government at Harvard University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Royalist Revolution: Monarchy and the American Founding\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Hebrew Republic: Jewish Sources and the Transformation of European Political Thought\u003c\/i\u003e (both from Harvard), and \u003ci\u003eThe Greek Tradition in Republican Thought\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"Harvard University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50543887810834,"sku":"9780674062139","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c76e65e5-b612-494e-8670-850cfe034ab1.jpg?v=1731515855","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-hebrew-republic-jewish-sources-and-the-transformation-of-european-political-thought-9780674062139","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}