Caro's Lives
Comparative Biography as Political Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6403050 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Lebow (0000-0002-2374-5529, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 99-127 |
| Publication date | 2015-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Review of Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0034-6705 • E-ISSN: 1748-6858 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0034670514000850 |
| OpenAlex | W1988792171 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 3 |
Robert Caro's biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson prove fruitful for political theory, particularly when approached in tandem, along the lines of Plutarch's comparative profiles. Building on the supposition that general insights into political power and its ethics lie in biographical particulars, Caro demonstrates that the most exhaustively detailed research of the most extreme subjects can yield otherwise inaccessible findings. Similarities between Moses and Johnson expose common mechanics of accumulating power, converting personal relationships into institutional authority, and show that norms are given effect as tools used by politicians. Contrasts offer the career as a unit of moral evaluation and suggest that although power may corrupt, it also “reveals.” A praiseworthy career should aim at ends distinct from both ideals and means. Assessment depends not only on intents or accomplishments, but on means, weighing their morality against their necessity
Biography · Law and economics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Colonial History and Postcolonial Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · History · History, Culture, and Diplomacy · Law
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,3 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2021 (6) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |