Michael Levin

Goldsmiths, University of London, Politics, Emeritus

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Most recent book was 'Political Thought in the Age of Revolution, 1776-1848. Burke to Marx'.

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Université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne

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University of Port Harcourt

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University of Pennsylvania

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Papers by Michael Levin

Contemporary environmental critique

Higher Education Quarterly, 1978

MARXISM A N D ROMANTICISM : MARX'S DEBT TO G E R M A N CONSERVATISM

POLITICAL STUDIES, 1974

There is a massive literature on the links between Hegel and Marx, much less on the influence of ... more

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Rousseau on Independence

Political Studies, 1970

'MAN was born free, and he is everywhere in chains.' The aphorism with which Rousseau opened the ... more 'MAN was born free, and he is everywhere in chains.' The aphorism with which Rousseau opened the first chapter of the Contrut Social is well known. Considerably less attention has been paid to the paradox that follows it: 'Those who think themselves the masters of others are indeed greater slaves than they.' In a letter of December 1765 Rousseau referred to David Hume as 'the most illustrious of my contemporaries, whose goodness surpasses his glory'.' Within half a year he had accused Hume of bringing him to England in order to dishonour him.2 These are just two of the many problems of Rousseau interpretation that can be clarified by reference to a theme recurrent throughout his writings-that of independence. Rousseau's personal psychology of independence as found in the Nouuelle Hkloi'se and in the other more autobiographical writings has been well illustrated by Ronald Grimsley and P. D. Jimack.3 What they have not done, and what I intend to outline, is the appearance of the same mentality not only in Rousseau's life and autobiographical writings, but also in his social and political theory. As a provincial in Paris, an aspirant Puritan inhabiting the fringes of a morally lax society, a Genevan in France, a romantic in the 'Age of Reason', a petit-bourgeois among the nobility, a deist, or even pantheist, among Catholics or atheists, Rousseau was rarely at ease with his neighbours and continually preoccupied with the problem of personal relationships. It is the purpose of this article to show how this concern coloured all his writings, affecting his attitude not only to individuals but to all forms of human association , whether it be the family, the small group of friends, the social class or the State. At all these levels he faced the problem of whether the unit in question gained more by remaining isolated than by being connected with other social units. Before considering the question of autonomy versus dependence at these various levels, we might note a number of Rousseau's major guiding principles. One of them is that hierarchy involves servitude and does so even 1 Rousseau's letter to Hume, 4 December 1765, TheLettem of David H m e , ed.

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An alternative terminology of development: Engels and Marx on barbarism and civilization 1

Studies In Marxism, 2004

In addition to the best-known Marxist theory of development, in which the movement is from feudal... more

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THE LIBERALISM OF ISAIAH BERLIN

A brief overview of the ideas of Sir Isaiah Berlin

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LIBERALISM AND BRITISH IMPERIALISM or The Mind-Set of Liberal Imperialism in Britain

or The Mind-S e t of Liberal Imp eri ali s m in Britai n . Micha el Levin (form e rly of Golds mi... more or The Mind-S e t of Liberal Imp eri ali s m in Britai n . Micha el Levin (form e rly of Golds mit h s' Colleg e, University of London) 'Certainly the English avoid e d a logical, intellec tu al appro a c h to empir e.' (A.P.Thornto n, Doctrine s of Imperialis m , New York: Wiley, 1965, p.55). '…their liberalis m did not ext e n d to a belief in selfgovern m e n t .' (Eric Stoke s, The English Utilitarians and India , Delhi: Oxford University Press, 199 2, p. 2 8 3 ).

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The European Legacy Toward New Paradigms The World Since 1945: A History of International Relations

The European Legacy, 2018

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J.S.Mill 'On Liberty'

Journal of Liberal History, 2009

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social theory and sociology in the 19th century.docx

Very slightly adapted from Encyclopaedia of Nineteenth century Thought, ed, G.Claeys

In the 19th century concerns with the pattern of social change led to the gradual emergence of so... more

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DEUTSCHMARX- MARX, ENGELS, AND THE GERMAN QUESTION.pdf

Political Studies, 1981

Marx and Engels's analysis of German society can be fruitfully viewed as a materialist adaptatio... more Marx and Engels's analysis of German society can be fruitfully viewed as a materialist adaptation of earlier Romantic views on German special development. The failure to develop a strong bourgeois class meant that Germany's pattern of development differed markedly from the general theory outlined in part one of the Communist Manifesto. If the bourgeoisie could not further the development of society, that task necessarily fell to the German proletariat, thereby placing them at the head of the international workers' movement.

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INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY.docx

A review article of a book on Inclusive Democracy

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UK. A portrait of the society

My aim is to show that just by aggregating relevant information from the media one can construct ... more

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Drafts by Michael Levin

DEMOCRACY. A Historical Perspective . words have their own history. For example, in my youth 'gay' meant something quite different from today and 'mouse' had a more restricted meaning. According to a Professor of Philosophy

, the theory and practice of democracy began with the ancient Greeks. This is also the view of th... more

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Discussion paper prepared for the political ideas group of the University of the Third Age, Dulwich branch. May 2023

Review of Douglas Murray's book The War on the West

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The Left and Israel. Restoring some balance

Critics of Israel have a particular duty to ensure that their rhetoric is not tainted with parano... more Critics of Israel have a particular duty to ensure that their rhetoric is not tainted with paranoia and unreason.' New Statesman editorial May 28, 2012. Israel's two political systems The left are rightly very critical of the situation in the conquered West Bank of the river Jordan; conquered because in 1967 the Arab states started a war which they then lost and refused to negotiate an immediate peace treaty. To me the justification of Israeli occupation of the West Bank is similar to that of Poland's 1945 occupation of what were previously parts of Germany. If a country starts a war it risks losing territory. However that in itself does not at all justify the mistreatment of the area's inhabitants. After the Second World War the Poles drove out all the Germans and Ukrainians from the territory they gained, which hardly anyone seems to condemn.1In contrast in 1967 the Israelis allowed the inhabitants of the West Bank to stay but imposed on them quite unacceptable conditions. The people of the West Bank, Israelis and Palestinians are now subject to two different legal systems with 'different courts, one military, one civilian, for the same crime committed on the same street'.2 The former have Israeli citizenship; the latter don't. The former have freedom of movement and assembly; the latter don't. Jewish towns were created where Palestinians were forbidden to settle. Meanwhile the Palestinians have had to endure collective punishment, land seizure, population transfer, house demolition and night raids. The normal critique takes that quite appalling situation as general to Israel because they take that limited area to be the whole; but it's not. It's just the area gained after the 1967 war. There is also what may be termed 'Israel proper' which is very different and is often conveniently ignored. The anti-Zionist left either doesn't know that the West Bank isn't the whole thing or for political reasons prefers not to acknowledge it. In Israel proper conditions are very different and very much better.

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