Benjamin Constant and Constitutionalism

AutorK. Steven Vincent
CargoNorth Carolina State University
Páginas19-46
BENJAMIN CONSTANT AND CONSTITUTIONALISM
K. Steven Vincent
North Carolina State University
SUMMARY: I. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT .- II. POLITICAL SOVEREIGNTY AND
THE PROTECTION OF RIGHTS.- III. POLITICAL INTERCHANGE, NEGOTIATION,
AND COMPROMISE.- IV. RELIGIOUS TOLERATION.- V. THE DANGER OF
FANATICISM.- VI. ANCIENT VERSUS MODERN LIBERTY.- VII. PLURALISM
Abstract: Benjamin Constant (1767-1830) was one of the most famous liberal
politicians and writers of the Bourbon Restoration in France (1814-1830). In 1814
and 1815, he wrote a number of notable works on constitutionalism. This article
places these writings in their historical context, and summarizes Constant’s liberal
pluralist constitutional philosophy. Constant insisted on the protection of rights, on
a representative system of politics based on popular sovereignty, on the separation
and balance of power, and on religious toleration. He worried about the
destabilizing effects of “fanaticism,” and argued that a liberal constitutional regime
would not endure unless citizens embraced a politics that permitted contestation,
negotiation, and compromise.
Keywords: Benjamin Constant, constitutionalism, liberalism, Boubon Restoration
Benjamin Constant (1767-1830) was one of the most famous liberal politicians
of the Bourbon Restoration (1814-1830), serving in the Chamber of Deputies 1819-
1822 and 1824-1830. He participated frequently in the debates that took place on
the floor of the Chamber,1 devoted his considerable energy to organizational
activities of the Liberal Opposition,2 and wrote hundreds of journal articles.3 He
referred to politics as his “vocation” and clearly enjoyed his public role.4
1 Discours de M. Benjamin Constan t à l a Chamb re des Dépu tés, 2 t. (Paris: Ambroise Dupont et Compagnie,
1827 et 1828).
2 The essential secondary scholarship for Constant during this period is the recent work by Robert Alexander,
Re-Writing the French Revolutionary Tradition: Liberal Opposition and the Fall of the Bourbon Monarchy (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003); and idem. “Benjamin Constant as a Second Restoration Politician,” The
Cambridge Companion to Constant, Helena Rosenblatt, ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), pp.
146-70. Also see Elizabeth Schermerhorn, Benjamin Constant, pp. 310-67; Paul Bastid, Benjamin Constant et sa
doctrine, vol. 1 (Paris: Colin, 1966); Ephraïm Harpaz, L’Ecole libérale sous la Restauration, le “Mercure” et la
“Minerve,” 1817-1820 (Genève: Droz, 1968); and, K. Steven Vincent, Benjamin Constant and the Birth of French
Liberalism (New York: Palgrave, 2011).
3 Ephraïm Harpaz has edited numerous volumes of Constant’s articles. Benjamin Constant, Recueil d’articles
1795-1817, introduction, notes et commentaries par Éphraïm Harpaz (Genève: Droz, 1978); Benjamin Constant,
Recueil d’articles: Le Mercure, La Minerve et La Renommée, 2 v., introduction, notes et commentaries par
Éphraïm Harpaz (Genève: Droz, 1972); Benjamin Constant, Recueil d’articles 1820-1824, introduction, notes et
commentaries par Éphraïm Harpaz (Genève: Droz, 1981); Benjamin Constant, Recueil d’articles 1825-1829, texte
établi, introduit, annoté et commenté par Éphraïm Harpaz (Paris: Champion, 1992); Benjamin Constant, Recueil
d’articles 1829-1830, texte établi, introduit, annoté et commenté par Éphraïm Harpaz (Paris: Champion, 1992).
Revista de Historia Constitucional
ISSN 1576-4729, n.16, 2015. http://www.historiaconstitucional.com, págs. 19-46
Constant was also well known for his writings on constitutionalism. Most of
these were originally published in 1814 and 1815: De l’esprit de conquête et de
l’usurpation [published in 1814];5 Réflexions sur les constitutions, la distribution des
pouvoirs, et les garanties, dans une monarchie constitutionnelle [1814];6 De la
responsabilité des ministres [1815];7 and Principes de politique applicables à tous les
gouvernements représentatives et particulièrement à la Constitution actuelle de la
France [1815].8 These works drew from his writings of the 1790s, especially from
the unpublished manuscript Fragments d’un ouvrage abandonné sur la possibilité
d’une constitution républicaine dans un grand pays [published only in 1991];9 and,
also from the 1806 manuscript Principes de politique applicables à tous les
gouvernements [published only in 1980].10 The writings of 1814-15 present a
The number of articles is overwhelming, especially given Constant’s other engagements. In the compilation of
Constant’s articles from the end of December 1816 to early May 1820, there are 188 articles (more than one
article/week). [Benjamin Constant, Recueil d’articles: Le Mercure, La Minerve et La Renommée, 2 v.] Robert
Alexander points out that in the three months of April, May, and June 1829, Constant published 24 articles
(approximately two articles/week). [“Benjamin Constant as a Second Restoration Politician,” p. 150.]
4 Constant, in a characteristic statement, wrote to his cousin Rosalie: “Ma mission est de faire, se faire se
peut, triompher un gouvernement constitutionnel.” [Benjamin Constant à Mademoiselle Rosalie de Constant (7
novembre 1820), Lettres de Benjamin Constant à sa famille 1775-1830, p. 552.]
5 De l’esprit de conquête et de l’usurpation, dans leurs rapports avec la civilization Européenne, Oeuvres
complètes, t. VIII (Tübingen, Max Niemeyer Verlag, 2005), pp. 527-822. References to The Spirit of Conquest and
Usurpation and their relation to European Civilization will be to the translation by Biancamaria Fontana, in
Benjamin Constant, Political Writings (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988). [Henceforth referred to as
The Spirit of Conquest and Usurpation.] However, at times I have modified the translation.
6 Réflexions sur les constitutions, les distributions des pouvoirs, et les garanties, dans une monarchie
constitutionnelle, in Oeuvres complètes, t. VIII, pp. 929-1283. [Henceforth referred to as Réflexions sur les
constitutions.]
7 De la responsabilité des ministres, in Oeuvres complètes, t. IX (Tübingen, Max Niemeyer Verlag, 2001), pp.
413-96.
8 Principes de politique applicables à tous les gouvernements représentatives et particulièrement à la Constitution
actuelle de la France, Oeuvres complètes, t. IX, pp. 653-858. References to the 1815 published version of
Principles of Politics Applicable to All Representative Governments will be to the translation by Biancamaria
Fontana, in Benjamin Constant, Political Writings. [Henceforth referred to as Principles of Politics [1815]].
However, at times I have modified the translation.
9 Constant, Fragments d’un ouvrage abandonné sur la possibilité d’une constitution républicaine dans un grand
pays, ed. Henri Grange (Paris: Aubier, 1991) [henceforth Fragments]. Constant worked on this manuscript from
1798 to 1807; parts of it were clearly completed before Napoleon’s coup in 1799, others clearly after the coup but
before the proclamation of the Empire in 1804.
There are two versions of the manuscript, one in Paris and one in Lausanne, but the differences are not
significant. There is a thorough discussion of the different texts and Constant’s revisions in Oeuvres complètes, t.
IV (Max Niemeyer Verlag: Tübingen, 2005), pp. 355-96. The editors of the Oeuvres complètes decided to entitle
the work De la possibilité d’une constitution républicaine dans un grand pays: fragments d’un ouvrage abandonné
because this title occurred in a manuscript of some of Constant’s additions to the text(s). Both of the complete
manuscripts, however, have the title Fragments d’un ouvrage abandonné sur la possibilité d’une constitution
républicaine dans un grand pays, which is the title under which the work was first published in 1991. I have
chosen to retain the original title. References will be to the 1991 edition of Henri Grange.
10Principes de politique applicable à tous les gouvernements, texte établi par Etienne Hofmann (Genève: Droz,
1980). References to the 1806 version of Principles of Politics Applicable to All Governments will be to the
K. Steven Vincent
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