The Pragmatic Enlightenment: Recovering the Liberalism of Hume, Smith, Montesquieu, and Voltaire

by Dennis C. Rasmussen

This is a study of the political theory of the Enlightenment, focusing on four leading eighteenth-century David Hume, Adam Smith, Montesquieu, and Voltaire. Dennis C. Rasmussen calls attention to the particular strand of the Enlightenment these thinkers represent, which he terms the "pragmatic Enlightenment." He defends this strand of Enlightenment thought against both the Enlightenment’s critics and some of the more idealistic Enlightenment figures who tend to have more followers today, such as John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and Jeremy Bentham. Professor Rasmussen argues that Hume, Smith, Montesquieu, and Voltaire exemplify an especially attractive type of liberalism, one that is more realistic, moderate, flexible, and contextually sensitive than most other branches of this tradition.

Genres: Philosophy, History

357 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Dennis C. Rasmussen is a political theorist whose research focuses on the Enlightenment, the American founding, and the virtues and shortcomings of liberal democracy and market capitalism. He received his Ph.D. from Duke University in 2005 and his B.A. from Michigan State University’s James Madison College in 2000, and he has also held positions at Tufts University, the University of Houston, Brown University, and Bowdoin College