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Cicero's Social and Political Thought

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In this work, Neal Wood presents a compelling overview of the writings of Roman lawyer, statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. Supporting his analysis with concise quotations from Cicero, Wood undertakes the daunting task of summarizing Tullian thought on law, justice, human nature, equality, private property, the state, the mixed constitution and politics. Despite the challenge to this endeavor posed by the many inconsistencies and ambiguitites in Cicero's philosophy, Wood succeeds admirably. He makes it easy for any reader to understand why Locke, Montesquieu, Jefferson, Adams, Madison and so many other proponents of liberty hold such high esteem for Cicero as the "first master of the world."

There is a lot of different ways of doing the history of philosophy. An author can choose a hermeneutics of generosity wherein she tries her best to present the thoughts/arguments of her subject as powerfully as she can. One of the goals of this form of hermeneutics is to see the subject as a living philosophy, a guide for our own lives.
Or the author can choose a hermeneutics of suspicion wherein she is trying to clear away obfuscations that keep us from seeing the truth of our situation. The history of philosophy as one form of ideology critique. The wisdom to be found is the new vision we achieve as we climb out of the cave.
Neal Wood hides neither his hermeneutic choices nor his politics. He is a Marxist scholar who started his career writing on John Locke. This research led him to Cicero.
Now if you are one of those miscreants who regard any form of Marxism as intellectual demon worship, scurry off now while you can. This review will only annoy you. And if you are a Marxist (You demon worshiper, you!) you may not like what I have to say either.
For Marxism is a tool, an analytical tool. It reminds us that while the economics of a society may not be All-Decisive, it is darn influential on all aspects of a culture, including philosophy and religion.
This is as true of ancient and non-Western philosophies as it is of modern Western philosophy. Obviously, I am painting with a very broad brush (Please don't litter the comment section with "what about so-and-so?" and "what about Marx himself?" I said it was a tool not a mathematical proof.)but I think that Wood does an excellent job of showing how useful an approach this can be with a thinker like Cicero.
The first thing that should be noted about Wood's approach is that he steeped himself in Cicero's letter, speeches and philosophical writings. Wood is a careful and responsible scholar and, as such, he has mastered the secondary literature as well.
The second thing to note about his approach to Cicero is that his interest in Cicero seems to have been first stirred from his study of Locke and Harrington. This led Wood to a focus on Cicero's idea about property and to note the individualist strain in Cicero's philosophy. These two Ciceronian foci have not been emphasized by most Cicero scholars and Wood uses them to explain many of the seeming contradictions and stresses in Cicero's thought.
Wood relies on his reading of On Duties, The Republic and The Laws for his explanation of Cicero's theoretical politics but he also investigates the practical politics of Cicero by a close reading of his letters.
All in all this is an exemplary book. I am a great fan of Cicero's moral thought as a rich mixture of the Stoicism and the Academic Scepticism of his time. It remains an appealing mix that can serve as a resource for living our own lives (See how that works? The whole of human thought is our moral and political canvas.) But there has always been this worship of private property that I could never reconcile with the rest of Cicero's thought. For example, there is a passage in On Duties where he suggests that it is more honorable to starve than to steal bread. The thing is that Wood makes us realize that Cicero had that same thought writ large. To subsidize the prices of grain in order to make it affordable to the desperate plebeians was to steal. Worse, it was to undermine the social order upsetting the rule of the Senatorial class.
Wood's book is a reminder that republican thought is almost always elitist. Since the "natural elite", the "intellectual elite" or the "moral elite" are always tricky to identify, the propertied elite have usually stood in their stead. Wood's book is also a reminder that conservative republican thought has tremendous individual appeal. It is a philosophy of personal responsibility, of education, of striving toward being good citizens. The trick is to separate the strands and to use the best. Wood is a useful guide.