The Forum and the Tower: How Scholars and Politicians Have Imagined the World, from Plato to Eleanor Roosevelt

by Mary Ann Glendon

As Mary Ann Glendon writes in this fascinating new book, the relationship between politics and the academy has been fraught with tension and regret-and the occasional brilliant success - since Plato himself.

In The Forum and the Tower, Glendon examines thinkers who have collaborated with leaders, from ancient Syracuse to the modern White House, in a series of brisk portraits that explore the meeting of theory and reality. Glendon discusses a roster of great names, from Edmund Burke to Alexis de Tocqueville, Machiavelli to Rousseau, John Locke to Max Weber, down to Charles Malik, who helped Eleanor Roosevelt draft the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With each, she explores the eternal questions they faced, including: Is politics such a dirty business that I shouldn't get involved? Will I betray my principles by pursuing public office? Can I make a difference, or will my efforts be wasted? Even the most politically successful intellectuals, she notes, did not all end happily. The brilliant Marcus Tullius Cicero, for example, reached the height of power in the late Roman Republic, then fell victim to intrigue, assassinated at Mark Antony's order. Yet others had a lasting impact. The legal scholar Tribonian helped Byzantine Emperor Justinian I craft the Corpus Juris Civilis, which became a bedrock of Western law. Portalis and Napoleon emulated them, creating the civil code that the French emperor regarded as his greatest legacy.

Formerly ambassador to the Vatican and an eminent legal scholar, Glendon knows these questions personally. Here she brings experience and expertise to bear in a timely, and timeless, study.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Law, Nonfiction, Politics, Political Science

280 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2011

About the author

Mary Ann Glendon is the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and a former United States Ambassador to the Holy See. She teaches and writes on bioethics, comparative constitutional law, property, and human rights in international law.

Reviews

[Vincent Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of short biographies on political theorists (the tower) who attempted to enter the fray (the forum) of practical politics and vice versa along with observations on their various successes and failures (mostly failures). I found the collection very personally relevant (I say this in recognition that such a statement particularly calls forth lightning to punish me for my hubris). The collection generally gives a brief sketch of the person's life before moving onto the general theme of the scholarly contemplative life versus the rough and tumble life of action. A wide variety of personalities from Plato to Eleanor Roosevelt (broadly mostly "western" whatever that nebulous term seems to mean our days). The style of the book is simple and clean, and never not entertaining. I was particularly amused by the spectacular failure of Plato to become a "man of action" twice before two different tyrants of Syracuse. In the end, Plato said something along the lines that people should always try to act, but under certain circumstances a good man could only keep his head low and pray for himself and the state (however, the author optimistically concludes that without these awful experiences Plato would not have written his mature work The Laws, a reflections on the imperfections of man and how that impacts orderly rule). Unsurprisingly, academics often fail to enter the field. Both Weber and Tocqueville prepared their entire lives in expectation of a political career. Both were by characteristics entirely unsuited for the political vocation. Both were too independent to join existing political factions (Weber refusing to take an offer from the Liberals [not imperialist or progressive enough {Weber died before the raise of Hitler, but mourned the lack of charismatic leaders in Germany, who he thought were ruled by passionless bureaucrats}] and Tocqueville trying to run as an independent candidate [and failing]). Weber seemed to lack the desire for fame, while Tocqueville desired it too much (in addition to being aristocratically standoffish). Machiavelli makes an appearance, though brilliant, he was sidelined by the political circumstances (too closely associated with a prior regime). There are some interesting (what I thought) original points discussing various luminaries. The author argues that Locke's second treatise only makes sense as a political document, not a philosophical one (for example, he uses property as a shorthand for life, liberty and property to appeal to the propertied class to support the glorious revolution, and ignores the traditional english rights in the work). The sketch of Oliver Wendell Holmes is rather well-trod but the author argues that he ignored and did not even mention the classical sources his skepticism arose from. I found the chapter on the struggle between Lord Coke and Hobbes fascinating (the two were even romantic rivals, though it seemed to be an example of winner's curse as Coke's second marriage was considered awful). Personality wise and in terms of the ideas, the two are presented as polar opposites. Lord Coke was very personally brave, once being imprisoned for standing up for the independence of the courts and rule of law against the prerogatives of the crown, while Hobbes admitted that he was easily physically anxious and fled several times from violent revolution. Coke grounded his philosophy in the traditional rights of englishmen and the common law, while Hobbes found the command of the sovereign (to prevent the anarchy that is the state of nature) and right to self-preservation as the source of law and order (preventing his ideas from being adopted seriously by the english legal profession).

Perhaps more useful are the examples of successes (at least in the eyes of the author). Two main themes that emerge are the useful collaborations between power and scholars and the lucky few who are able to leave both political and scholarly legacy. The two examples cited as an example of the first, are the Justinian code (between emperor Justinian and his advisor Tribonian [later Napoleon consciously modeled the Napoleonic Code after the corpus juris civilis even down to the scholarly input from Portalis]) and the UN Declaration of Human Rights (between Eleanor Roosevelt and Charles Malik (a diplomat who yearned for the scholarly life but in spite of himself was a master diplomat who shepherded the declaration through four committees during a very delicate time [the start of the cold war]). The author sees Cicero and Burke as examples of the rare few who soar in both the tower and the forum (though, personally I thought this was arguable, since Cicero ended up killed and his hands nailed to the forum while Burke spent most of his political career in the minority government). Both were outsiders, Cicero was a novus homo from a provincial equites family, while Burke was from an Irish family at a time of profound anti-Catholic sentiment. Cicero like most romans of his day thought civic duty was the priority of any citizen. Cicero discussed the virtues of being tested at the forum by those who are evil and preventing bad men from ruling the state as well as necessary to protect the circumstances for philosophy to flourish. In the end, Cicero left behind important scholarly achievements while fighting for the republican values he stood for. The chapter on Burke might be the most interesting, and discusses his brilliance that he took into the political arena rather than pursuing a scholarly life (to the displeasure of some of his friends, including Boswell and Doctor Johnson). Burke is presented as the mind behind the Whig party (though eventually he was sidelined by his own party) in policies regarding granting the US independence, the predictor of the rise of Napoleon, and an early advocate of cosmopolitan human rights (though his speeches regarding Hastings). I particularly found the work on Burke's background original and moving. The author argues that Burke was always very conscious of walking a tightrope, having a catholic mother and wife in an age where anti-catholicism was strong in British politics. One of the most interesting episodes of Burke's life are regarding his relatives asking him to intercede. Burke replied that such intercession would do nothing but imperil himself (and by implication that the other reforms he could be successful in). While Burke was cautious, he was an incrementalist and spoke the truth in a way so that he could keep speaking the truth (he did achieve reform of the harsh anti-Irish and anti-Catholic Penal Laws). However, when pushed, Burke stood for his principles, giving a speech that established trustee theory when he voted for free trade measures over protectionist laws (though this did cost him his seat next election). The chapter changed my view of Burke, whose Irish background is usually swept aside.

Another theme that emerges is the lack of foresight that those in the tower and forum have about their legacies. Tocqueville did not realize until near the end that his legacy would be in the written works he left behind (even democracy in america was intended to improve his political reputation), and Burke mourned until his death about his failure to successfully convict Hastings. Similarly, Cicero thought that his work in trying to preserve the republic was the crowning achievement of his life, but today he is as much remembered for his scholarly works on synthesizing Greco-Roman thought and introducing new latin words.

[UChicagoLaw]

"This book explores the efforts of a diverse group of historical figures to bridge the space between the public forum and the ivory tower—i.e., to inform political debate with academic study or vice versa. Each chapter of the book is devoted to the experience of a single figure. The book begins with Plato, whose work is almost synonymous with idealistic rather than practical political ideas, and yet who—I was quite surprised to discover—late in life undertook at great personal effort and risk to serve as an advisor to the government of Syracuse. The account of this episode gives insight into the folly of both the philosopher and the king. I am looking forward to the rest of this book." - William Hubbard

[Kris McGregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was with great joy to be able to speak with Mary Ann Glendon about ”The Forum and the Tower: How Scholars and Politicians Have Imagined the World, from Plato to Eleanor Roosevelt”. A fascinating book that chronicles not only the thoughts, but also the lives of 12 notable philosophers and/or statesmen throughout history. The “and/or” is important, because not all can can successfully combine both. In fact, only two in this particular work, are found to be that complete “Philosopher Statesman”. Why is that so? Why is difficult for one who develops a theory to put it into practice? And on personal level on my part, that this is one of the most enjoyable and engaging converstations I’ve been blessed to have in this particular “forum”. We also discuss Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI and their influence in today’s world. My interview with Mary Ann Glendon

[Trey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well-written series of mini-biographies that interacts with the political and intellectual ambitions of men (and one woman) through western civilization. Each figure comes alive in Glendon's brief description, and there is much to chew on with each account: the delicate and often frustrating game of politics, the almost perfectly consistent pattern of frustrated would-be-world-shakers realizing the power of the pen, and mystifying complexity of human individuals. Finally, the book points to further reading as each work of political thought touched upon is given new perspective and context, and so the diligent reader is encouraged to read on. And that should be on the goals of every author.

[Alec Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection of diverse examples of people who were both people of action and thought. Some were more interesting than others, but I didn't feel that it really hung together well as providing some sort of overarching narrative. Glendon supposedly wrote this in the way of advice for her law students who had concerns about engaging in public life, and there is some to be gleaned, but at no point did the essays ever come together in a truly meaningful way.

[Ronald Barba · Rating 4 out of 5]

ESSENTIALLY: A person cannot truly be an academic/philosopher or a politician fully, lest they wish to "muddy" the values/responsibilities of either. It's difficult to propose a certain political theory and at the same time implement such theory through a political career because an individual will always run into cases in the public realm wherein such theories simply cannot be followed.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Mary Glendon provides essays on Plato, Cicero, Justinian, Tribonian, Irnerius, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Coke, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Tocqueville, Weber, Holmes, E. Roosevelt, and Malik. It's a great book to have on your shelf if you ever need a quick, fifteen page summary of one of these philosophers' lives and achievements.

[Ali Alper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bazen ders kitabi havasi veriyor (yazarin hocaligindan olsa gerek) ama epey begendim. Ozellikle hukuk tarihi konusunda yiginla yeni bilgi verince, bana "ah ulan keske law school'a gitseymisim" dedirtti.

[Jimmy Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating and inspiring. This book has opened my eyes to so many different figures from different times. Thanks to the excellent chapter on Edmund Burke, I am now thoroughly enjoying the "Reflections on the French Revolution".

[J Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and highly recommended. Read my review here: http://zenpundit.com/?p=4527

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, and an even better lady who wrote it!