The French Revolution and the creation of Benthamism / Cyprian Blamires.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Blamires, Cyprian.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political science--France--History--18th century.

Political science.

Political scientists.

France.

History.

France--History--Revolution, 1789-1799--Influence.

Political scientists--France.

Physical Description:

xii, 442 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Summary:

The prevailing view of the English reformer Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) is that he was essentially a moral philosopher and jurist with a penchant for indulging in occasional extravagant and rather mysterious practical projects such as the Panopticon. This book argues that such a view represents a misunderstanding based to a considerable extent on the one-sided view of Bentham offered by his greatest promoter, Etienne Dumont (1759-1829). Dumont's abstracts of Bentham manuscripts published in French in 1802 had a huge influence in the English-speaking world through the translation of part of them under the title Theory of Legislation, the classic presentation of Benthamism. Dumont's own particular agenda, forged in his traumatic experience of the French Revolution, prevented him, however, from taking an interest in the 'other' Bentham presented here for the first time: the entrepreneurial figure who sought in Panopticon to embody not the Orwellian nightmare of state intrusiveness so often assumed, but the cherished modern values of transparency, accountability and economy in public institutions.

Contents:

Utilitarianism and Panopticism : the umbilical cord

Panopticon dominates Bentham's existence

The creator of the Bentham brand : (1) Dumont the Genevan

The creator of the Bentham brand : (2) Dumont in the French Revolution

The creator of the Bentham brand : (3) first steps in marketing

Dumont's goodbye to revolution, 1791-1793

Theory of legislation (1) : the gestation of the Traités, 1793-1802

Theory of legislation (2) : the message of the Traités

The impact of the Traités : Benthamism goes global.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-424) and index.

ISBN:

0230554229

9780230554221

OCLC:

224444378

Online:

Publisher description