The Rise and Fall of Rational Control: The History of Modern Political Philosophy

by Harvey Claflin Mansfield

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

336 pages, Hardcover

Published January 20, 2026

Reviews

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Mansfield's delightful prose, but I'm most impressed by his ability to get to the heart of the complex philosophies he discusses and presents throughout. The influence of the western tradition on the author, who identifies as a conservative, is also quite obvious. I won't claim I understood - or agreed with - every single thing he tried to express or hint at (for that, I need to study political philosophy more), but what I did comprehend was very interesting and useful. The book is primarily about political philosophy of course, but it is also quite insightful for understanding philosophical developments in general over the last half a millennium. I anticipate reading this many more times in the future to fully appreciate its depth & analyses.

[Kamiab Ghorbanpour · Rating 3 out of 5]

At one point, he defines feminism as a Kantian form of pure morality that advocates a particular conception of womanhood despite the "natural" and "biological" differences between the sexes, as well as an ideal/utopian state that women ought to aspire to.

Mansfield would be so canceled if people actually read his stuff and understood it lmao

[Mikael Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Mansfield argues that modern political philosophy is constituted by a self-conscious attempt by a line of great philosophers to preserve, elaborate, and debate a central idea. Because of this, modern political philosophy has an "internal history" that is more cohesive and less "accidental" than the vagaries of human historical development more generally. The central modern idea, first introduced by Machiavelli (the founder of modernity in the Straussian narrative), is that mankind is fundamentally alone in the world with no one and nothing to be grateful to, and accordingly must seek freedom *from* God and nature *in* the assertion of rational control over politics, society, and even human nature (*for*... what?). Freedom was sought in the assertion of Reason (now opposed to God and nature) until Rousseau proved the historicity of human reason, thus shifting the domain of the modern project to History—we must make ourselves before we can remake our world. But the growing implausibility of the Hegel's and Marx's progressive theories of History, and finally Nietzsche's rebuke of historicism in favor of a human creativity that transcends history, has driven us back into the arms of nature (though not, it seems, of God). While referring to ancient philosophers only rather obliquely throughout the book, Mansfield ends with a quiet call to return to nature as the essential condition of human freedom rather than its enemy. This foundational principle of ancient philosophy could serve as the foundation of a "reworked liberalism" that makes room for virtue and spiritedness while maintaining the liberal concern for rights and material welfare.

[Robert Stout · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rise and Fall of Rational Control is fundamentally a critique of the modern dream that politics can be made fully scientific and predictable. Mansfield argues that while constitutionalism, law, and administration have produced enormous benefits, they cannot eliminate the need for prudence, leadership, and moral judgment.

The book's central lesson is that political life remains irreducibly human. Attempts to govern solely through rules, expertise, and rational systems eventually encounter the realities of passion, contingency, and character. For Mansfield, the challenge of modern democracy is not to abandon rational institutions but to balance them with the virtues and statesmanship that no bureaucracy can replace.

Modern political philosophy was founded by Machiavelli, and it reached its height with Thomas Hobbes and John Locke who ruled that capitalism and private property is a fundamental right. The project begins to fray with Jean-Jacques Rousseau who argued that the rich got richer and the middle class (if there was one) got poorer. Rational control was completely lost when Karl Marx and Nietzsche penned their works. If you want to learn the impact that modern political philosophers had this is a great book to read.

[Chris Maska · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Making of Modernity

Broad in scope and nonetheless deep, the Rise and Fall of Rational Control is an invitation to consider the thinking that sought and seeks to make the world. One could simply read it and benefit from it, but to truly understand it requires reading the books it addresses. It is a version of lectures given to students who were assigned the books. Pay attention to the footnotes. Does the religious argument that convinces Lucrezia to cheat on her husband make sense? While Lot's daughters did something similar, does the Bible commend their deed? Read the story and note which tribes were the result of unions. This is small example of what may be missed by a quick reading.