Controversies About History

Harrington engaged in controversy over particular historical models, over appropriate historical methodology, and over the relevance of history to politics. He sought not merely to impose past models in the present, but to use research into the past to inform present judgement. Harrington treated the commonwealth of Israel like any other ancient model, and emphasized its Erastianism and, more controversially, its democratic character. Sparta too was presented by him as a ‘democratic’ state against those who emphasized its monarchical or oligarchical elements. Harrington’s theory about the relationship between land and power was also grounded in his historical analysis, providing him with a distinctive account of the causes of the English Civil War. Finally, Harrington’s historical methodology set him at odds with those who championed mathematical over historical demonstration. In his historical debate, as in other aspects of his work, Harrington was charting his own middle course.