Lawrence Hamilton
Biographic Data
| ID | 3827802 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Lawrence Hamilton |
| GIVEN NAMES | Lawrence |
| FAMILY NAME | Hamilton |
| SIGNATURE | HAMILTON L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of the Witwatersrand |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9074-6591 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 40 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Book Roundtable
This is a discussion between Guido Parietti, author of On the Concept of Power: Possibility, Necessity, Politics (Oxford University Press, 2022), and four respondents, Laurence Piper, Christine Hobden, Lawrence Hamilton and Camila Vergara, focussed on the notion of power as possibility. This discussion was first held in an online seminar in late 2024, which was broadcast on Theoria 's YouTube channel, and is captured here for readers
Needs, judgement, and hubris, or judging politics from the perspective of the pandemic
Representative Democracy Against Oligarchy
Citizens and dominant democratic theorists alike respond to representative democracy’s failure to reverse trenchant inequalities and oligarchies in similar ways. They either blame the system of representative politics itself or corrupt individual representatives. Some radical democrats suggest it is necessary to defend extrainstitutional, permanent transgression, while mainstream democrats suppose that fixed norms and institutions will safeguard …
Theoria Speaks Back: Thinking the Political from the Perspective of the Global South (An Interview with Lawrence Hamilton)
In this interview, the previous editor-in-chief of Theoria , Lawrence Hamilton, describes the evolution of Theoria to become a journal with more Southern political theory scholars and ideas, and how this was inspired by the limitations of Northern theory alone in understanding real world political problems in South Africa especially. He traces the evolution of this thought in becoming a more ‘decolonial’ type thinker through his own work, and how…
Amílcar Cabral and Amartya Sen: Freedom, Resistance and Radical Realism
This article compares the ideas of Amílcar Cabral and Amartya Sen on capability, freedom, resistance and political change, thereby revealing the importance of radical realism in political thought and development studies. Sen’s path-breaking work has been transformative for multiple disciplines, not least development. Yet, reading Sen alongside the ideas of one of Africa’s most successful anti-colonial political leaders is revelatory: it provides …
Learning to Judge Politics
In the first of a series of interviews conducted by members of Theoria’s editorial board with provocative political theorists and thinkers, Professor Lawrence Hamilton talks to Professor John Dunn in an exclusive interview at King’s College, Cambridge, held on the 28 March 2019
Resistance and radical democracy: Freedom, power and institutions
In this article, I argue that resistance and radical democracy can be used to the good of representative democracy. I submit that resistance is about the popular power – the freedom as power – to create better institutions. I argue that the conflict and resistance that is at the core of radical democracy enables freedom and democracy and resists domination best if it is institutionalized. This counterintuitive claim is substantiated by an argumen…
Freedom in the Decolonizing Republic
In this article I show how and why Freedom Is Power (FIP) is a work concerned with the decolonizing context of South Africa and the Global South, and what follows from this. I argue that the ongoing process of decolonization, that is, real liberation and empowerment, requires a realist view of freedom as power through representation. I focus on the idea of the republic and democratic institutions; and the question of how to bring about national a…
Freedom Is Power: Reinventing Representative Democracy
In this article I propose a different founding view of liberty to help reinvent representative democracy: freedom as power through representation. I argue that representation and associated relations of power can be assessed contextually in terms of whether they enable or disable domination and enhance judgment in politics. I submit that freedom obtains if and only if the existing forms of representation manage power relations to minimize dominat…
Ideas, Powers and Politics
I make two main points in response to the two great articles on my book Freedom is Power: Liberty Through Political Representation (FIP) published in this issue of Theoria. First, I assess the power of ideas, especially vis-à-vis the important imperative to decolonise knowledge production, taking on board much of Boisen and Murray’s arguments while qualifying their tendency to overstate the case for the power of ideas. I then comment on Allsobroo…
Representation Needs Resistance
In responding to the five excellent articles on Freedom Is Power collected here, I argue that my account of representation in politics runs all the way down, as does my associated views on needs and institutional critique aimed at diminishing domination. I take on board some of the other criticisms levelled at me, but resist the notion that my account of freedom as power constrains resistance. Liberty through representation requires and depends u…
Representation and Political Theory
Empire and Economics: Decolonising Colonialism and Its Legacies in Africa
Decolonising Colonialism and Its Legacies in AfricaIn order effectively to decolonise Africa we need to understand better the economic and political effects of colonialism in and on Africa today.To achieve that understanding we need to look beyond the tired, well-trodden themes in African historiography and political theory.Liberalism, communism, African and Afrikaner nationalism, localised cultural and social histories and related ideological co…
Democratic Theory: The South African Crucible
South Africa's post-apartheid context and a mix of African and non-mainstream Western political theory is felicitous for a positive critique of the two now predominant Western accounts of democracy. The context highlights how deliberative and aggregative accounts of democracy fall short in their attempts to make universal claims regarding democracy; and it provides the theoretical basis for an account of political democracy that better associates…
What people know
Controversy, Conflict and Struggle in South Africa
The Ohio short histories of Africa series is a great idea. It offers concise, nicely laid-out, small books written by leading scholars. The four volumes I discuss in this article are part of a stro
Real Modern Freedom
I argue that 'negative' freedom or freedom as absence of impediment is better described as freedom within a putative 'private' sphere, where individuals are allegedly protected from the coercive interference of other agents. As such it is characterised by four problems as an account of freedom under modern conditions. I then consider two alternatives, within which freedom is identified with politics or political action, and argue that they are th…
Human Rights: A Very Bad Idea
The Promise of Political Theory in South Africa
In this article, I discuss the nature of political theory by reference to the nature and study of politics and the centrality of language and practical concepts therein. I then paint a realistic picture of the state of political theory in South Africa, which while bleak provides some hope. Although political theory has for some time been the poor cousin in the extended family of political studies in South Africa, this may be changing. My main con…
Power, domination and human needs
I elicit some of Foucault's insights to provide a more realistic picture than is the norm in social and political theory of how best to identify and overcome domination. Foucault's vision is realized best, I argue, by combining his account with two related conceptions of domination based on human needs and realistic accounts of politics that focus on agency, power and interests. I defend a genealogical, inter-subjective account of how the determi…
Collective unfreedom in South Africa
This article submits, with Mandela, that despite political freedom and a lauded liberal constitution, South Africa remains collectively unfree, especially if freedom is understood as power across four economic and political dimensions. Although G. A. Cohen's notion of the ‘collective unfreedom’ of the proletariat is not perfectly analogous to the situation of South Africans in general, this article maintains that it is still very useful in unders…
Human Needs and Political Judgment
In general, the best way to judge men is by their interests; and the best method of persuading them is to make them see their own interest in what you propose. René-Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d’Argenson Judgment is central to politics and political theory. But it is also elusive. It requires and involves a wide range of skills, capacities, sentiments, values, and institutions. Some theorists respond to this elusive jumble of abilities, emo…
(I've Never Met) a Nice South African: Virtuous Citizenship and Popular Sovereignty
What is virtuous citizenship? Is it possible to be a virtuous citizen whatever the form of one's state? Is it possible to be a virtuous citizen in the new South Africa? In this article I defend some Republican ideas on civic virtue and popular sovereignty, especially as found in the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to suggest that popular sovereignty is a necessary condition for active and virtuous citizenship. For it is only under conditions o…
Debt, Democracy and Representation in South Africa
Contrary to most newly independent colonies which borrowed extensively in order to fuel economic growth and development, the post‐apartheid South African government pursued a different path. With the advent of democracy in 1994 they chose to stabilize the economy and reduce public debt via the adoption of an austere fiscal programme. We argue that the choice was made in order to gain greater policy independence from creditors and portray an image…
Sacred vs Profane: Conflict Over the San Francisco Peaks
A Theory of True Interests in the Work of Amartya Sen
A distinction can be drawn within political philosophy between those theories which emphasize the procedural element of discussion in politics (exemplified in the work of J. Rawls and J. Habermas) and those that are concerned with the grounds people will bring up in support of their position. Within the latter type there are theories that work from wants/preferences (e.g. J. Bentham and some modern utilitarians), those that emphasize certain idea…
Human Rights: A Very Bad Idea
Human needs, land reform and the South African constitution
This paper argues that the poor delivery on land reform in post-apartheid South Africa is best explained through a close analysis of the form and content of the constitution of 1996. Within this progressive legal document lies the possibility for radical land reform but also that which currently hamstrings the process. The South African constitution is self-defeating with regard to land reform because it conceives of the goals and means of land r…
Representation and Political Theory
Collective unfreedom in South Africa
This article submits, with Mandela, that despite political freedom and a lauded liberal constitution, South Africa remains collectively unfree, especially if freedom is understood as power across four economic and political dimensions. Although G. A. Cohen's notion of the ‘collective unfreedom’ of the proletariat is not perfectly analogous to the situation of South Africans in general, this article maintains that it is still very useful in unders…
Debt, Democracy and Representation in South Africa
Contrary to most newly independent colonies which borrowed extensively in order to fuel economic growth and development, the post‐apartheid South African government pursued a different path. With the advent of democracy in 1994 they chose to stabilize the economy and reduce public debt via the adoption of an austere fiscal programme. We argue that the choice was made in order to gain greater policy independence from creditors and portray an image…
Power, domination and human needs
I elicit some of Foucault's insights to provide a more realistic picture than is the norm in social and political theory of how best to identify and overcome domination. Foucault's vision is realized best, I argue, by combining his account with two related conceptions of domination based on human needs and realistic accounts of politics that focus on agency, power and interests. I defend a genealogical, inter-subjective account of how the determi…
Needs, judgement, and hubris, or judging politics from the perspective of the pandemic
Amílcar Cabral and Amartya Sen: Freedom, Resistance and Radical Realism
This article compares the ideas of Amílcar Cabral and Amartya Sen on capability, freedom, resistance and political change, thereby revealing the importance of radical realism in political thought and development studies. Sen’s path-breaking work has been transformative for multiple disciplines, not least development. Yet, reading Sen alongside the ideas of one of Africa’s most successful anti-colonial political leaders is revelatory: it provides …
Resistance and radical democracy: Freedom, power and institutions
In this article, I argue that resistance and radical democracy can be used to the good of representative democracy. I submit that resistance is about the popular power – the freedom as power – to create better institutions. I argue that the conflict and resistance that is at the core of radical democracy enables freedom and democracy and resists domination best if it is institutionalized. This counterintuitive claim is substantiated by an argumen…
Representation Needs Resistance
In responding to the five excellent articles on Freedom Is Power collected here, I argue that my account of representation in politics runs all the way down, as does my associated views on needs and institutional critique aimed at diminishing domination. I take on board some of the other criticisms levelled at me, but resist the notion that my account of freedom as power constrains resistance. Liberty through representation requires and depends u…
Real Modern Freedom
I argue that 'negative' freedom or freedom as absence of impediment is better described as freedom within a putative 'private' sphere, where individuals are allegedly protected from the coercive interference of other agents. As such it is characterised by four problems as an account of freedom under modern conditions. I then consider two alternatives, within which freedom is identified with politics or political action, and argue that they are th…
A Theory of True Interests in the Work of Amartya Sen
A distinction can be drawn within political philosophy between those theories which emphasize the procedural element of discussion in politics (exemplified in the work of J. Rawls and J. Habermas) and those that are concerned with the grounds people will bring up in support of their position. Within the latter type there are theories that work from wants/preferences (e.g. J. Bentham and some modern utilitarians), those that emphasize certain idea…
The Political Philosophy of Needs
This ambitious and lively book argues for a rehabilitation of the concept of 'human needs' as central to politics and political theory. Contemporary political philosophy has focused on issues of justice and welfare to the exclusion of the important issues of political participation, democratic sovereignty, and the satisfaction of human needs, and this has had a deleterious effect on political practice. Lawrence Hamilton develops a compelling posi…
‘Civil Society’: Critique and Alternative
Globalization is perceived as representing a threat to democracy. 1 Thus it raises concerns with how to enhance citizens’ rights and deepen democracy. ‘Civil society’ is used as a means of developing an understanding of how to do this: the most common assumption or argument underpinning the many contemporary conceptions of ‘civil society’ is that the concept and creation of ‘civil society’ creates deeper forms of democracy and citizen power. Howe…
Needs, States, and Markets
One of the more intractable questions in the history of political thought is still around today: how can humans collectively control and enhance the development and satisfaction of their needs? This is a question about the nature of contemporary needs, about which and whose needs are developed and satisfied, and about the extant evaluative control over the generation of needs. That is, it is a question about the mechanisms and institutions that c…
Sacred vs Profane: Conflict Over the San Francisco Peaks
The Context and Argument of The Political Philosophy of Needs
Needs, Rights and Political Judgement: Replies to Commentators
Human needs, land reform and the South African constitution
This paper argues that the poor delivery on land reform in post-apartheid South Africa is best explained through a close analysis of the form and content of the constitution of 1996. Within this progressive legal document lies the possibility for radical land reform but also that which currently hamstrings the process. The South African constitution is self-defeating with regard to land reform because it conceives of the goals and means of land r…
Human Needs and Political Judgment
In general, the best way to judge men is by their interests; and the best method of persuading them is to make them see their own interest in what you propose. René-Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d’Argenson Judgment is central to politics and political theory. But it is also elusive. It requires and involves a wide range of skills, capacities, sentiments, values, and institutions. Some theorists respond to this elusive jumble of abilities, emo…
(I've Never Met) a Nice South African: Virtuous Citizenship and Popular Sovereignty
What is virtuous citizenship? Is it possible to be a virtuous citizen whatever the form of one's state? Is it possible to be a virtuous citizen in the new South Africa? In this article I defend some Republican ideas on civic virtue and popular sovereignty, especially as found in the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to suggest that popular sovereignty is a necessary condition for active and virtuous citizenship. For it is only under conditions o…
Debt, Democracy and Representation in South Africa
Contrary to most newly independent colonies which borrowed extensively in order to fuel economic growth and development, the post‐apartheid South African government pursued a different path. With the advent of democracy in 1994 they chose to stabilize the economy and reduce public debt via the adoption of an austere fiscal programme. We argue that the choice was made in order to gain greater policy independence from creditors and portray an image…
Collective unfreedom in South Africa
This article submits, with Mandela, that despite political freedom and a lauded liberal constitution, South Africa remains collectively unfree, especially if freedom is understood as power across four economic and political dimensions. Although G. A. Cohen's notion of the ‘collective unfreedom’ of the proletariat is not perfectly analogous to the situation of South Africans in general, this article maintains that it is still very useful in unders…
Real Modern Freedom
I argue that 'negative' freedom or freedom as absence of impediment is better described as freedom within a putative 'private' sphere, where individuals are allegedly protected from the coercive interference of other agents. As such it is characterised by four problems as an account of freedom under modern conditions. I then consider two alternatives, within which freedom is identified with politics or political action, and argue that they are th…
Human Rights: A Very Bad Idea
The Promise of Political Theory in South Africa
In this article, I discuss the nature of political theory by reference to the nature and study of politics and the centrality of language and practical concepts therein. I then paint a realistic picture of the state of political theory in South Africa, which while bleak provides some hope. Although political theory has for some time been the poor cousin in the extended family of political studies in South Africa, this may be changing. My main con…
Power, domination and human needs
I elicit some of Foucault's insights to provide a more realistic picture than is the norm in social and political theory of how best to identify and overcome domination. Foucault's vision is realized best, I argue, by combining his account with two related conceptions of domination based on human needs and realistic accounts of politics that focus on agency, power and interests. I defend a genealogical, inter-subjective account of how the determi…
Democratic Theory: The South African Crucible
South Africa's post-apartheid context and a mix of African and non-mainstream Western political theory is felicitous for a positive critique of the two now predominant Western accounts of democracy. The context highlights how deliberative and aggregative accounts of democracy fall short in their attempts to make universal claims regarding democracy; and it provides the theoretical basis for an account of political democracy that better associates…
What people know
Controversy, Conflict and Struggle in South Africa
The Ohio short histories of Africa series is a great idea. It offers concise, nicely laid-out, small books written by leading scholars. The four volumes I discuss in this article are part of a stro
Representation and Political Theory
Empire and Economics: Decolonising Colonialism and Its Legacies in Africa
Decolonising Colonialism and Its Legacies in AfricaIn order effectively to decolonise Africa we need to understand better the economic and political effects of colonialism in and on Africa today.To achieve that understanding we need to look beyond the tired, well-trodden themes in African historiography and political theory.Liberalism, communism, African and Afrikaner nationalism, localised cultural and social histories and related ideological co…
Freedom in the Decolonizing Republic
In this article I show how and why Freedom Is Power (FIP) is a work concerned with the decolonizing context of South Africa and the Global South, and what follows from this. I argue that the ongoing process of decolonization, that is, real liberation and empowerment, requires a realist view of freedom as power through representation. I focus on the idea of the republic and democratic institutions; and the question of how to bring about national a…
Freedom Is Power: Reinventing Representative Democracy
In this article I propose a different founding view of liberty to help reinvent representative democracy: freedom as power through representation. I argue that representation and associated relations of power can be assessed contextually in terms of whether they enable or disable domination and enhance judgment in politics. I submit that freedom obtains if and only if the existing forms of representation manage power relations to minimize dominat…
Ideas, Powers and Politics
I make two main points in response to the two great articles on my book Freedom is Power: Liberty Through Political Representation (FIP) published in this issue of Theoria. First, I assess the power of ideas, especially vis-à-vis the important imperative to decolonise knowledge production, taking on board much of Boisen and Murray’s arguments while qualifying their tendency to overstate the case for the power of ideas. I then comment on Allsobroo…
Representation Needs Resistance
In responding to the five excellent articles on Freedom Is Power collected here, I argue that my account of representation in politics runs all the way down, as does my associated views on needs and institutional critique aimed at diminishing domination. I take on board some of the other criticisms levelled at me, but resist the notion that my account of freedom as power constrains resistance. Liberty through representation requires and depends u…
Political science (27 works) · Law (26 works) · Politics (25 works) · Sociology (25 works) · Political Philosophy and Ethics (21 works) · Law (18 works) · Law and economics (15 works) · Philosophy (15 works) · Epistemology (14 works) · Democracy (11 works)