Emerson and the Defense of Equality

Arguing for equality as the necessary foundation of liberty

During Ralph Waldo Emerson’ s lifetime, the idea of universal human equality was under intensive assault. Repeatedly - in contexts ranging from slavery, to marriage, to politics and workers' rights - Americans of the time were being told that equality was an obsolete ideal and that the future would belong to those who accepted the hard truth that liberty lies not in egalitarian values but in hierarchies of domination and submission. Greg Garvey's Emerson and the Defense of Equality focuses on Emerson as a real-time defender of equality during the antebellum culture wars.

In contrast to studies that treat individual liberty as Emerson's primary concern, Garvey argues that Emerson's works define a broad and sustained defense of equality as the necessary foundation of liberty. When read as part of a debate about equality, Emerson's Nature is a treatise on individuality and the common weal his anti-slavery speeches and English Traits advance evolutionary theories to rebut polygenesist arguments for white supremacy the essays 'Love' and 'Domestic Life' challenge gender spheres and explore equality in marriage, friendship, and citizenship. As Emerson speculates on the future, 'Politics' and 'The Young American' anticipate a 'beneficent socialism' in which human rights will always have priority over property rights. In his career-long effort to defend a threatened ideal, Emerson develops an aspirational vision of society that understands equality to be a fundamental aspect of liberty.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.