Rediscovering Political Friendship. Aristotle’s Theory and Modern Identity, Community, and Equality (original) (raw)

2020, Contemporary Political Theory

One might be forgiven for believing, upon opening this book, that the early 1980s debate between liberals and communitarians is back. A feeling of nostalgia almost arises for the times of that dispute-one that, for those like me who received higher education in the new millennium, has quasi-legendary undertones. Meanwhile, history had ended, and liberalism had triumphed. But a quick look at political developments since the second half of the past decade, with its surge of successful nationalistic and identity-based claims, suggests that there is fertile ground for a new wave of communitarian thought. With this political context in mind, Ludwig seeks inspiration from classical texts, and the final product is a fascinating, authoritative, and complex volume. The book, however, is not the revival of a debate but rather a reconciliation. Rediscovering Political Friendship attempts the reconstruction of this concept-usually thought of as a stronghold of communitarian ethics-as a supplement for 'liberalism's attempts to negotiate the real difficulties pointed out by liberalism's opponents' (p. 39). This dialogue between ancient texts and the politics of modernity brings to mind masterpieces of the 1980s, such as Walzer's Exodus and Revolution (1985) or Nussbaum's The Fragility of Goodness (1986). Ludwig draws on classic texts of political thought from Plato to Hegel and from Tocqueville to Walzer to reflect on contemporary politics and about the world as it should be. The book's epigraph quotes Cicero: 'Our nature is to be in a sort of league (societas) with everyone-the closer the person, the stronger it becomes (maior autem ut quisque proxime accederet)'. This quote really expresses, and powerfully so, the terms in which Ludwig presents his argument. The key tenet of the book is that 'political friendship', a direct translation of Aristotle's politike philia, is a feeling which must be studied carefully, and indeed elevated-or countered when it cannot be elevated-by political theory. Granted, friendship occupies a special