Tocqueville and the Ostroms

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dc.coverageDOI: 10.1177/09526951221129960
dc.creatorWilford, Sarah J.
dc.date2023
dc.date.accessioned05-01-2026 18:06
dc.date.available05-01-2026 18:06
dc.description<p>Although it is commonplace for political scientists to draw upon historical thinkers and the ‘great books’ of the past, the practice of using historical works as reference points for contemporary issues remains under-investigated. To address this practice, this article is positioned at the crossroads of social science and intellectual history. By examining the relationship of political economists Elinor and Vincent Ostrom with Alexis de Tocqueville, the article demonstrates some of the potential risks incurred by social scientists drawing on historical thinkers. After exploring the similarities between the Ostroms and Tocqueville, it identifies three key pitfalls of the Ostroms’ ‘Tocquevillian’ rhetoric. These pitfalls result in obscuring meaning and overlooking philosophical insights, both of which detract from the Ostroms’ project. Insights from the field of intellectual history are offered. A final section presents a key example of Vincent Ostrom overlooking Tocqueville's thought where Tocqueville's insights were directly applicable to his work. The article parses political science's relationship with the past and offers a critique that is applicable beyond Tocqueville and the Ostroms.</p>eng
dc.identifierhttps://investigadores.uandes.cl/en/publications/02d06dbc-e2f8-482a-8ec8-56c2a430ad71
dc.languageeng
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.sourcevol.36 (2023) date: 2023-07-01 nr.3-4 p.27-54
dc.subjectAlexis de Tocqueville
dc.subjectElinor Ostrom
dc.subjectVincent Ostrom
dc.subjectintellectual history
dc.subjectinterdisciplinary methods
dc.titleTocqueville and the Ostromseng
dc.typeArticleeng
dc.typeArtículospa
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