The Politics of Eloquence

History has shown us that the power of political speech can be put to both positive and manipulative ends - while rhetoric is a powerful tool for those who seek to persuade others to adopt their views, it can also be employed to foment factionalism and undermine the very basis of a democratic society. In this unique study, Marc Hanvelt shows how eighteenth-century philosopher David Hume confronted questions about the negative moral and political effects of rhetoric, and how he differentiated bet