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Unit 19: David Hume-of Essay Writing: Introduction and Detailed Study

is a Hobbist”.His central concern is to show the importance of the rule of law, and stresses Notes
throughout his political Essays the importance of moderation in politics. This outlook needs to be
seen within the historical context of eighteenth century Scotland, where the legacy of religious
civil war, combined with the relatively recent memory of the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite risings,
fostered in a historian such as Hume a distaste for enthusiasm and factionalism that appeared to
threaten the fragile and nascent political and social stability of a country that was deeply politically
and religiously divided. He thinks that society is best governed by a general and impartial system
of laws, based principally on the “artifice” of contract; he is less concerned about the form of
government that administers these laws, so long as it does so fairly (though he thought that
republics were more likely to do so than monarchies).
Hume expressed suspicion of attempts to reform society in ways that departed from long-established
custom, and he counselled peoples not to resist their governments except in cases of the most
egregious tyranny.However, he resisted aligning himself with either of Britain’s two political
parties, the Whigs and the Tories. Hume writes My views of things are more conformable to Whig
principles; my representations of persons to Tory prejudices.
McArthur says that Hume believed that we should try to balance our demands for liberty with the
need for strong authority, without sacrificing either. McArthur characterizes Hume as a
‘precautionary conservative’, whose actions would have been “determined by prudential concerns
about the consequences of change, which often demand we ignore our own principles about what
is ideal or even legitimate”.He supported liberty of the press, and was sympathetic to democracy,
when suitably constrained. Douglass Adair has argued that Hume was a major inspiration for
James Madison’s writings, and the Federalist No. 10 in particular.Hume was also, in general, an
optimist about social progress, believing that, thanks to the economic development that comes
with the expansion of trade, societies progress from a state of “barbarism” to one of “civilisation”.
Civilised societies are open, peaceful and sociable, and their citizens are as a result much happier.
It is therefore not fair to characterise him, as Leslie Stephen did, as favouring “...that stagnation
which is the natural ideal of a skeptic.”
Though it has been suggested Hume had no positive vision of the best society, he in fact produced

an essay titled Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth, which lays out what he thought was the best form of
government. His pragmatism shone through, however, in his caveat that we should only seek to
implement such a system should an opportunity present itself, which would not upset established
structures. He defended a strict separation of powers, decentralisation, extending the franchise to
anyone who held property of value and limiting the power of the clergy. The Swiss militia system
was proposed as the best form of protection. Elections were to take place on an annual basis and
representatives were to be unpaid. It is also important to note that the ideal commonwealth laid
out by Hume was held to be ideal only for the British Isles in the 18th century. According to Hume
“good constitutions... will ensure that the private interest of men, even of bad men, will controlled
and directed as to serve and produce the public good. Such is the aim of free government, which
Hume calls the “happiest” society... Liberty in the sense of free government is, Hume says, “the
perfection of civil society”... The wise statemen... in attempting to improve a constitution will
adapt his innovations to the “ancient fabric”, so as not to disturb society. His caution may be
reinforced by reflections on the limits of human foresight”.
Contributions to Economic Thought
Through his discussions on politics, Hume developed many ideas that are prevalent in the field of
economics. This includes ideas on private property, inflation, and foreign trade.
In contrast to Locke, Hume believes that private property isn’t a natural right. Hume argues it is
justified, because resources are limited. Private property would be an unjustified, “idle ceremonial”,
if all goods were unlimited and available freely. Hume also believed in an unequal distribution of

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