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United States and Canada

"The present volume," Hiram Caton tells us, "is a study of polytechnic rationality under the aspect of the political program with which it was most intimately identified, here called the politics of progress." In prose that is often but not always an improvement over the opening sentence, Caton presents a lengthy and ambitious examination of western culture between 1600 and 1835. This sprawling, idiosyncratic book is at times impressive and profound, at other times frustrating, but on balance, seems more questionable than convincing in its conclusions. Caton uses the overarching theme of progress in the direction of "liberalism," or alternatively, increased freedom, to tie together the many individuals and events examined in his work. This thesis is more of a leitmotif than a strong organizing principle, but it serves to give the book a sense of direction. His survey of thinkers and politicians is a wide-ranging one, and includes Francis Bacon, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Ren6 Descartes, David Hume, John Locke (at some length), Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and many others. At the book's heart is Thomas Hobbes, who takes a small step toward freedom by asserting the essential equality of humans. However, Hobbes's base view of people, notes Caton, limits his contribution to human freedom. It is left to other thinkers to build upon Hobbes's insights and move the world of thought closer toward liberalism. Thus Caton titles the section on Benjamin Franklin, "Hobbism for the People," and that on enlightened despots, "Hobbism for Monarchs." Throughout the work Caton shows his ability to engage thinkers across the span of centuries. In dealing with the industrial revolution he observes: "The development of a robust market in skills culminated in the transvaluation of values whose opening shots were fired in [Bacon's] The New Organon, [Descartes's] The Discourse on Method, and [Hobbes's] Leviathan" (p. 529). This intellectual dialogue, which forms much of the substance of the book, is a valuable one. No reader, I suspect, will agree with each of Caton's analyses, but all will learn from him.