The Rise and Fall of Rational Control
The History of Modern Political Philosophy
Published on 20. January 2026
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-674-29885-9 (ISBN)
Description
A renowned scholar traces the evolution of modern political philosophy.
The Rise and Fall of Rational Control is a bold interpretation of centuries of intellectual revolutions. Based on Harvey C. Mansfield's legendary Harvard course, taught for decades to rapt classrooms, this volume is both a grand work of ideas and an elucidating reflection on liberalism, its eclipse, and the possibility of renewal.
Mansfield locates the birth of modern political philosophy in the work of Niccolo Machiavelli, the first to assert that the objective of politics is not to achieve wishful ideals of justice or virtue-as the ancients had it-but to manipulate the brute facts of the world in service of interests. Here rational control, free from the order of gods or God, is the key to achieving the modern order, which can liberate humans from slavery and conflict. Hobbes and Locke later develop Machiavelli's modern idea, laying foundations for liberalism. Then comes the first crisis in the form of Rousseau, who introduces historical change into the very idea of reason, which itself is said to evolve. After Rousseau, history takes center stage, as witnessed in Kant, Marx, and Hegel. The second crisis of modernity arrives with Nietzsche, who casts doubt on reason itself. Ever since, political thought has been stranded in the desert of postmodernism, where Machiavelli's necessities are replaced by faded subjectivity.
Tracing the rise and fall of rational control, Mansfield asks where we go from here. Can we progress beyond our unease with what is modern, or should we aim to return somehow to what came before?
The Rise and Fall of Rational Control is a bold interpretation of centuries of intellectual revolutions. Based on Harvey C. Mansfield's legendary Harvard course, taught for decades to rapt classrooms, this volume is both a grand work of ideas and an elucidating reflection on liberalism, its eclipse, and the possibility of renewal.
Mansfield locates the birth of modern political philosophy in the work of Niccolo Machiavelli, the first to assert that the objective of politics is not to achieve wishful ideals of justice or virtue-as the ancients had it-but to manipulate the brute facts of the world in service of interests. Here rational control, free from the order of gods or God, is the key to achieving the modern order, which can liberate humans from slavery and conflict. Hobbes and Locke later develop Machiavelli's modern idea, laying foundations for liberalism. Then comes the first crisis in the form of Rousseau, who introduces historical change into the very idea of reason, which itself is said to evolve. After Rousseau, history takes center stage, as witnessed in Kant, Marx, and Hegel. The second crisis of modernity arrives with Nietzsche, who casts doubt on reason itself. Ever since, political thought has been stranded in the desert of postmodernism, where Machiavelli's necessities are replaced by faded subjectivity.
Tracing the rise and fall of rational control, Mansfield asks where we go from here. Can we progress beyond our unease with what is modern, or should we aim to return somehow to what came before?
Reviews / Votes
[This book] is an exercise in the liberal education that was already threatened when Mr. Mansfield began teaching History of Modern Political Philosophy in the 1960s. You cannot get answers to the questions Mr. Mansfield raises in a textbook or on ChatGPT, or even by examining important passages. The only way to find them is to read, reflect and compare whole books. -- Sam Goldman * Wall Street Journal * Mansfield's work is immensely clever, subtle and thought-provoking. The Rise and Fall of Rational Control merits generous applause of the sort we give to a jazz interpretation whose enchantment lies in its ingenious departure from an original score. -- Colin Kidd * London Review of Books * With elegant prose and sparkling aphoristic insights, this Virgil of Cambridge guides his readers along the winding, sometimes confusing, and often dark paths of modern thought. -- Glenn Ellmers * New Criterion * Through this narrative of the history of political ideas, Mansfield allows his readers to confront modern political philosophy on its own terms-to see a recapitulation of the modern mind...[this book] is far more serious, complicated, and funny than my review can describe...We need great teachers like Harvey Mansfield who understand both great books and political life better than we can. Political philosophy, the study of great books, is not an academic discipline among others, but the record of an inquiry into the fundamental human activity that is manifest always and everywhere. Mansfield opens this inquiry for us all. -- Rachel Mackey * Law & Liberty * Will invite years of further reflection...Mansfield does a marvelous job of extracting what is essential for political philosophy. -- Ralph C. Hancock * Claremont Review of Books * The magisterial Harvey Mansfield of Harvard has given us a splendid new book...The reader will be struck-I certainly was-by how refined [the lectures] are. Well, they are refined because he refined them over half a century...Every chapter is penetrating and illuminating. -- Robert P. George * Washington Free Beacon * Mansfield's moderns, especially the early ones, are all devious, therefore dangerous. They always seem to be casting sideways glances; the careful reader's job is to catch them out. Mansfield excels at this, because he is an unfailingly careful reader. Even if one rejects the larger argument, it is always full of penetrating observations. -- Ian Tuttle * Hedgehog Review * Harvey Mansfield is a Harvard treasure, a one-man antidote to liberal complacency. -- Michael J. Sandel Harvey Mansfield is a legend-not to say a myth. These days, of course, a conservative on the political science faculty of an Ivy League college may sound as mythical as the Minotaur. Perhaps [his] critics viewed him with the same mixture of astonishment and fear as they would the mythical beast. Unfortunately for them, [he] was all too real. -- Tom Cotton, United States Senator for Arkansas An unblinkingly courageous social commentator, Harvey Mansfield is a superb teacher who has fostered a generation of influential students. -- Francis Fukuyama, author of <i>The End of History and the Last Man</i> Professor Mansfield's influence extends beyond the walls of the academy. His insights have deep practical and political importance. Throughout his career Harvey Mansfield has taught us important things about self-government; we need, now more than ever, to heed his wise counsel. -- William J. Bennett, former US Secretary of Education and author of <i>The Book of Virtues</i>More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 163 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
610 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-674-29885-9 (9780674298859)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Harvey C. Mansfield is William R. Kenan, Jr., Research Professor of Government at Harvard University. The author and translator of many books, he has held Guggenheim and NEH Fellowships and is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal.