Republicanism and Markets

The republican tradition has long been ambivalent about markets and commercial society more generally: from the contrasting positions of Rousseau and Smith in the eighteenth century to recent neorepublican debates about capitalism, republicans have staked out diverse positions on fundamental issues of political economy. Rather than offering a systematic historical survey of these discussions, this chapter will instead focus on the leading neo-republican theory—that of Philip Pettit—and consider its implications for market society. As I will argue, Pettit’s theory is even friendlier to markets than most have believed: far from condemning commercial society, his theory recognizes that competitive markets and their institutional preconditions are an alternative means to limit arbitrary power across the domestic, economic, and even political spheres. While most republican theorists have focused on political means to limit such power—including both constitutional means (e.g., separation of powers, judicial review, the rule of law, federalism) and participatory ones (democratic elections and oversight)—I will examine here an economic model of republicanism that can complement, substitute for, and at times displace the standard political model. Whether we look at spousal markets, labor markets, or residential markets within federal systems, state policies that heighten competition among their participants and resource exit from abusive relationships within them can advance freedom as non-domination as effectively or even more effectively than social-democratic approaches that have recently gained enthusiasts among republicans. These conclusions suggest that democracy, be it social or political, is just one means among others for restraining arbitrary power and is consequently less central to (certain versions of) republicanism than we may have expected. So long as they counteract domination, economic inroads into notionally democratic territory are no more worrisome than constitutional ones

Identifying the connection between Roman Conceptions of ‘Pure Air’ and Physical and Mental Health in Pompeian Gardens (c. 150 BC-AD 79): A Multi-Sensory Approach to Ancient Medicine

Different genres of Roman literature commented on the relationship between the condition of the environment and physical and mental health. They often refer to clear, pure, or good air as a beneficial aspect of the environment. Yet, unlike fetid air, they provide few descriptions of what constituted healthy air quality. Moreover, aside from pointing out the association between the environment and bodily condition, the writers also did not explain precisely how the link between the two was made. This paper utilizes a comparative study of ancient literature and the archaeological remains of Roman gardens in Pompeii: archaeobotanical samples, fresco paintings, location, and surviving features. Three questions are addressed in this study: First, how did the Romans identify and define pure? Second, how did air connect to the body? Third, what were the qualities of pure air and how did they benefit the body? Not only was inhalation a means of linking air to the body, but the two were also related through sensory perception. I argue that sight, sound, and olfaction were used to identify the qualities of pure air. Through the sensory process of identification, the beneficial properties of pure air were, in accordance with ancient perceptions of sensory function, taken into the body and affected health. Thus, sensory perception acted as the bridge between the environment and health

C. Crispi Sallustii Belli Catilinarii et Jugurthini histori. [electronic resource].

Stereotype printing.A reissue of the 1739 edition, with the titlepage reset.Electronic reproduction.English Short Title Catalog,Reproduction of original from British Library

Caii Crispi Sallustii Belli Catilinarii et Jugurthini histori. Secundum exemplaria emendatissima [electronic resource].

Electronic reproduction.English Short Title Catalog,Reproduction of original from British Library