“This is an important contribution to the current literature on democracy. It is speculative political theory in the best sense of the word.” —The American Political Science Review

“Simon’s book . . . offers a revitalization of many of the basic phrases and concepts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, not by referring them back to the Enlightenment but rather to the Enlightenment’s more remote and original sources in classical and scholastic philosophy. In doing this, the book at the same time modernizes our basic concepts by bringing to their aid the living philosophical condition of neo-scholasticism. It is the book of a good citizen.” —Commonweal

Professor Yves R. Simon was a renowned philosopher and teacher at several American universities, including the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago. He published numerous books and articles, many of which remain as classic pieces of political and social philosophy. Professor Simon died in 1961.