Britannia 1066-1884: From Medieval Absolutism to the Birth of Freedom under Constitutional Monarchy, Limited Suffrage, and the Rule of Law

175 Pages·2014·1.99 MB·English

by  Charles K. Rowley

Studies in Public Choice
Series Editor
Randall G. Holcombe
Florida State University Dept. Economics, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Founding Editor
Gordon Tullock
George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
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Charles K. Rowley • Bin Wu
Britannia 1066–1884
From Medieval Absolutism to the Birth
of Freedom under Constitutional Monarchy,
Limited Suffrage, and the Rule of Law
1 3
Charles K. Rowley Bin Wu
Department of Economics Department of Finance and Taxation
George Mason University Shandong University of Finance
Fairfax Jinan, Shandong
Virginia China
USA
ISSN 0924-4700
ISBN 978-3-319-04683-9 ISBN 978-3-319-04684-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-04684-6
Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014935237
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To Dad,
You were a tireless champion of individual
liberty, free enterprise and limited
government. We miss you, but are so proud of
your accomplishments. Your words and deeds
will keep the light of liberty shining
for generations to come.
Your loving daughters,
Amanda and Sarah
Prof. Charles K. Rowley was a great
influence on me. Just like the candle logo he
designed for the Locke Institute, he lit up my
life’s path. He was generous with his time and
advised me throughout my 1-year study as a
visiting scholar in George Mason University
and at the Locke Institute.
My dissertation evaluated liberalism in the
contemporary world, and Prof. Rowley and
I planned the contents of this book together.
His patience and inspiration helped my
contributions to this book. I will continue
his work in China, sharing his ideas with
my colleagues and students in his respectful
memory. I also give profound gratitude to
Daniel Houser, Dean of the Department
of Economics, GMU, who gave me a
research grant.
I am extremely grateful to Amanda, who
helped me to make this especially m eaningful
book possible, after Prof. Rowley’s sudden
passing. Amanda, Sarah, and Marjorie
Rowley provided me with a home-like
environment during my stay in the USA. I
also received a lot of care and encourage-
ment from Shaoxian Yu, Andrew Lee, Diane
Wang, and Jessie Shu. They also introduced
me to the American way of life.
I would like to express a warm thanks to
Yu’an Liu, my PhD supervisor in Shandong
University, who always offered every possible
aid for me. Finally, my deepest thanks goes
to my parents and husband Ke Li, for their
support during the critical phases of research
and writing.
Contents
1 A Public Choice Model of Absolutism in Medieval
England: 1066–1485 ................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 1
1.2 England During the Middle Ages ........................................................ 2
1.3 The Limits of Liberty and the Absence of the Rule of Law
in Medieval England ........................................................................... 11
1.4 The Uneasy Role of Parliament in Medieval England ........................ 15
1.5 A Public Choice Model of Autocracy in Medieval England ............... 16
References .................................................................................................... 21
2 The Tudor Dynasty: Perfecting Absolutism in the Era
of Renaissance and Reformation, 1485–1603 .......................................... 23
2.1 The Renaissance and the Reformation ................................................ 23
2.2 King Henry VII (1485–1509): Securing the New Dynasty
and Reimposing Absolutist Governance ............................................. 24
2.3 King Henry VIII (1509–1547): From Fidei Defendor to the
Break with Rome ................................................................................. 28
2.4 King Edward VI (1547–1553): England’s Second Reformation ........ 31
2.5 Queen Mary I (1553–1558): A Brief and Bloody Return to Rome ..... 33
2.6 Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603): Religious Compromise,
While Britannia Rules the Waves ........................................................ 34
2.7 T he Uneven Evolution of the Common Law Under Tudor
Despotism ............................................................................................ 37
2.8 T he Manipulation of Parliament by the Tudor Despots ...................... 38
2.9 T udor Despotism Conforms to the Public Choice Model ................... 39
References .................................................................................................... 40
3 The Stuart Doom: The Hinge of Fate for Absolutist
Autocracy, 1603–1688 ................................................................................ 41
3.1 England at the Beginning of the Seventeenth Century ....................... 41
3.2 King James I: Uncouth Scot Rocks an Absolutist Throne,
1603–1625 ........................................................................................... 42
vii
viii Contents
3.3 King Charles I: the Road to Revolution and Regicide, 1625–1649 .... 45
3.4 Two Civil Wars End in Regicide: 1642–1649 ..................................... 48
3.5 Oliver Cromwell: the Rump Parliament and the Republican
Protectorate ......................................................................................... 51
3.6 King Charles II: From the Restoration to a Descent into
Tyranny: 1660–1685 ........................................................................... 55
3.7 James II: Catholic Absolutist King Who Abandons the
English Throne, 1685–1688 ................................................................ 62
3.8 T he Weakening of Absolute Despotism Under the Stuart Dynasty .... 65
3.9 Edward Coke’s Defense of the English Common Law ....................... 66
References .................................................................................................... 67
4 The Seventeenth Century Philosophical Divide: Unity or Liberty ........ 69
4.1 The Two Great Antitheses of the Seventeenth Century ...................... 69
4.2 Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) ............................................................. 69
4.2.1 Hobbes’s Perspective on the Nature of Man ........................... 72
4.2.2 Hobbes’s Perspective on the State of Nature .......................... 73
4.2.3 Leviathan: The Hobbesian State ............................................. 74
4.2.4 The Hobbesian Contribution ................................................... 75
4.3 Robert Filmer (1588–1653) ................................................................. 76
4.3.1 Patriarcha................................................................................. 76
4.4 James Harrington (1611–1677) ........................................................... 77
4.5 Algernon Sidney (1623–1683) ............................................................ 79
4.6 John Locke (1632–1704) ..................................................................... 81
4.6.1 Locke’s Perspective on the Nature of Man ............................. 84
4.6.2 Locke’s Perspective on Natural Law and Natural Rights ....... 85
4.6.3 Locke’s Perspective on the State of Nature ............................. 86
4.6.4 Locke’s Perspective on Property ............................................. 87
4.6.5 Locke’s Perspective on the Social Contract and on
Civil or Political Society ......................................................... 88
4.6.6 T he Nature of Consent in Locke’s Theory of Political
Society ..................................................................................... 90
4.6.7 Locke’s Perspective on the Nature of Governance in
Civil Society ............................................................................ 92
4.6.8 Locke’s Insights on the Dissolution of Government ............... 93
4.6.9 The Lockeian contribution ...................................................... 94
References .................................................................................................... 96
5 The Demise of the Divine Right of Kings, the Decline of
Monarchic Power, and the Rise of Parliament, 1689–1775 .................... 99
5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 99
5.2 T he Glorious Revolution and the Constitutional Settlement .............. 100
5.2.1 Prince Willem of Orange ......................................................... 100
5.2.2 The Convention Parliament and Its Ruling
on the Succession .................................................................... 102
Contents ix
5.2.3 T he Declaration of Rights and the Bill of Rights .................. 104
5.2.4 W hy the Constitutional Settlement Endured ......................... 106
5.3 The Demise of the Divine Right of Kings......................................... 107
5.4 T he Decline of the Monarchy............................................................ 108
5.4.1 William III: Constitutional Deals with Parliament
to Finance European Wars ..................................................... 108
5.4.2 Queen Anne: Last Weak Scion of a Decaying Line .............. 111
5.4.3 George I: Stupidity and Luck Contribute to the Decline
of Absolutism ........................................................................ 114
5.4.4 George II Reigns While Robert Walpole Rules .................... 116
5.4.5 George III Meddles in British Party-Coalition Politics ......... 117
5.5 Onward and Upward? ....................................................................... 120
5.6 T he High Tide of Mercantilism ......................................................... 121
5.7 T he Demise of Absolutism and Its Implications
for the Size of the Winning Coalition................................................ 123
5.8 The Changing Balance of Authority Between
the Sovereign and Parliament ............................................................ 125
5.9 Robert Walpole .................................................................................. 127
5.10 Britannia Embraces Individual Liberty ........................................... 130
5.11 Britannia Re-embraces the Common Law
and Teeters Towards a Primitive Rule of Law ................................ 131
5.12 T he System of Criminal Justice in Eighteenth-Century
England and Wales .......................................................................... 132
References .................................................................................................. 135
6 Hugo Grotius, John Locke, Cato’s Letters,
and the American Revolution ................................................................. 137
6.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 137
6.1.1 The Influence of Hugo Grotius’s Philosophy ........................ 138
6.2 The Eighteenth-Century Resurrection of John Locke’s
Radical Whiggism ............................................................................. 140
6.3 Cato’s Letters: 1720–1723 ................................................................ 142
6.3.1 John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon .................................... 142
6.3.2 Cato’s Letters and the South Sea Bubble Scandal of 1720 ... 143
6.3.3 Cato on the South Sea Bubble Scandal ................................. 144
6.3.4 Cato on the State of Nature ................................................... 146
6.3.5 Cato on Government ............................................................. 146
6.3.6 Cato on Liberty ..................................................................... 147
References .................................................................................................. 149
7 The Zenith of Classical Liberal Philosophy in Britannia:
From the Scottish Enlightenment to John Stuart Mill ......................... 151
7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 151
7.2 Adam Smith (1723–1790) ................................................................. 151
7.2.1 Adam Smith’s Life and Times ............................................... 152
x Contents
7.2.2 T he Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) ............................... 152
7.2.3 The Wealth of Nations (1776) ............................................... 154
7.3 John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) ........................................................... 156
7.3.1 John Stuart Mill’s Life and Times ......................................... 157
7.3.2 Mill’s Utilitarianism (1863) .................................................. 158
7.3.3 Mill Insights into Political Economy (1848) ......................... 159
7.3.4 Mill’s Insights into Representative Government (1861) ....... 161
7.3.5 Mill’s on Liberty (1859) ........................................................ 163
7.4 Tides in the Affairs of Men: The Scottish Enlightenment
and John Stuart Mill .......................................................................... 165
References .................................................................................................. 166