National Character and Public Spirit in Britain and France, 1750-1914

Despite its centrality in European thought, this is the first treatment of national character in intellectual history. Romani considers a distinction between 'national character' as a static and stereotype-laden concept, and 'public spirit' as a notion suggesting the necessity of certain qualities to operate free institutions. He argues that the contrast between these assessments of collective dispositions still influences our culture. Major authors of the period (including...
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Despite its centrality in European thought, this is the first treatment of national character in intellectual history. Romani considers a distinction between 'national character' as a static and stereotype-laden concept, and 'public spirit' as a notion suggesting the necessity of certain qualities to operate free institutions. He argues that the contrast between these assessments of collective dispositions still influences our culture. Major authors of the period (including Montesquieu, Voltaire, Hume, Burke, Tocqueville, Spencer, and Durkheim) are considered, amounting to a substantial reinterpretation of a central strand in post-Enlightenment European thought.