Innovation in Substance: ‘Empire follows the Balance of Property’

Abstract

Chapter 6 focuses on Harrington’s innovative theory regarding the relationship between land and political power. It asserts the novelty of the theory, as claimed by Harrington and acknowledged by others, as well as its relationship to Harrington’s wider innovation of designing a large state republic. The chapter then elucidates the key elements of Harrington’s theory, its implications for his typology of government, and its application to England. Once a government suited to the distribution of property is established within a state it must be preserved by means of an agrarian law, and again the details of this provision are explored. The chapter also pays attention to Harrington’s distinctive imperial policy which emphasized colonial expansion within, rather than beyond Europe, and his consequent emphasis on the importance of the army rather than the navy. Thus Harrington’s innovative theory about property and power is presented as generating various other novelties.