If Men Were Angels: James Madison and the Heartless Empire of Reason (American Political Thought)...

If Men Were Angels: James Madison and the Heartless Empire of Reason (American Political Thought) | Richard K. Matthews | Groundbreaking Work

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If Men Were Angels...

	If Men Were Angels: James Madison and the Heartless Empire of Reason (American Political Thought) Richard K. Matthews University Press of Kansas, 1996 - 302 pages average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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"A devastating critique of Madison's political thought". -- Gordon S. Wood in The New York Review of Books. "If Matthews is right -- that Madison and Jefferson 'were, from an ideological perspective, worlds apart' -- then we must reassess just about everything we think we know about ideology and politics in the early republic". -- Journal of American History. "The most provocative recent book on Madison". -- New York Times Book Review.

Matthews is a genius

This book is a must read for any enthusiast of American Political Theory.

Groundbreaking Work

This work is truly goundbreaking. The comparison of the liberal/commercial views of James Madison with the radical democratic views of his close friend, Thomas Jefferson are truly enlightening. Matthews shows how Madison was closer to Hamilton than to Jefferson in political philosophy. Madison was obsessed with balance, and order in the liberal tradition. Jefferson,on the other hand, had a vision of radical democracy in the republic. Ward republics, and local democracy were infused into Jefferson's thought. Madison was more concerned with balancing the interests of society and controlling "factions". He viewed government from a more Hobbsian view than other Jeffersonians.Madison was far less trusting of human nature and more concerned with "stability" in society than with experiments in government. This book goes against the grain of current scholarship which unites Jefferson and Madison in philosophy when in fact in many ways they were poles apart. A great book.

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Judge for yourself

If Men Were Angels is as "poor" a book as reviewer "Joseph (see more about me) Schulman" thinks, why is it that Gordon Wood gave it a favorable review in the New York Review of Books? Moreover, it received praise from several leading historians including Jack Greene and Forrest McDonald. Perhaps open minded readers might come to different conclusions about this book.

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