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What keeps a republic alive when land, law, and power pull in different directions?
In The Commonwealth of Oceana, James Harrington asks what kind of republic can last. He mixes political argument, history, and invention in Oceana, an imagined England, where the Lord Archon builds a new constitution. The challenge is to make government stable without placing rulers above the law.
Harrington begins with a bold claim: power follows property, especially land. From there, he builds practical rules for sharing authority. A senate proposes laws, the people decide, and another body carries them out. Secret ballots and rotating offices help guard against corruption.
What you’ll discover
- The roots of power Follow Harrington’s argument that the division of land shapes who governs a nation.
- Laws above rulers Explore a republic designed to place law above the will of individual rulers.
- A balance worth protecting See why Harrington wants land spread among many citizens to keep a republic steady.
- Government with separate tasks Examine a constitution that separates proposing laws, deciding on them, and carrying them out.
- Safeguards against corruption Discover how secret votes and rotating offices aim to keep public power in check.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love political theory, the history of republics, and the design of institutions. If you enjoy Machiavelli, Plato, Venice, or the roots of American constitutions, Harrington offers a rich plan to explore.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Fair rules make fairness practical
- Political power follows landed property
- Separate proposing from deciding
- Keep land from gathering into dominance
- Secret votes and rotation protect equality
- Citizens must assemble and defend themselves
- Emergency power needs firm limits
- Equality can remove the roots of conflict
- Judge a constitution by its arrangements
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The Commonwealth of Oceana
by James Harrington · 1656
Two girls share a cake, and a whole republic grows from that rule: one divides, the other chooses.
Challenging5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“a commonwealth is an empire of laws and not of men”
In short
Two girls share a cake. One cuts and the other chooses.
The Commonwealth of Oceana at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 5 min5 h 40 min fast, 8 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 101,400 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1656by James Harrington
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Power follows the balance of landed property
Harrington opens with a claim that shapes everything after it. Government rests on dominion, and dominion means property, above all land. Whoever holds the most land holds the real power in a nation.
He sorts governments by this test. If one man owns about three quarters of the land, as the Turkish sultan does, the state is an absolute monarchy. If a small nobility owns most of it, the state is a mixed monarchy. If the land is spread among the whole people, the state is a commonwealth.
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Two girls share a cake, and a whole republic grows from that rule: one divides, the other chooses.
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Details
- First published
- 1656
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 15 min
- Level
- Challenging
- Paperback
- 294 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 294 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 508 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print hardcover
- 508 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Delivery and returns
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For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Harrington, James. The Commonwealth of Oceana. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-commonwealth-of-oceana.
Harrington, J. (2026). The commonwealth of Oceana. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-commonwealth-of-oceana (Original work published 1656)
Harrington, James. The Commonwealth of Oceana. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-commonwealth-of-oceana.
@book{harrington2026commonwealth,
author = {Harrington, James},
title = {The Commonwealth of Oceana},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-commonwealth-of-oceana},
note = {First published 1656}
}
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What is The Commonwealth of Oceana about?
It describes an imagined republic called Oceana, standing for England. A general named the Lord Archon writes a complete constitution, based on land laws, secret ballots, a senate, a people's assembly, and a citizen army.
Who is Leviathan in Harrington's book?
Leviathan is Harrington's name for Thomas Hobbes, whose book of that title defended sovereign power. Harrington argues against him often, saying that laws and balanced property, not a single sword, hold a state together.
What is the agrarian law in Oceana?
It is a rule that limits how much land one person may own, set at two thousand pounds a year in Oceana. Estates are divided among sons so no family grows strong enough to dominate the whole people.
The author
James Harrington
1611–1677 · English political theorist
James Harrington was an English political theorist. He was born in Upton, Northamptonshire, in 1611 and died in Westminster, London, in 1677. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford, and travelled in continental Europe. He wrote The Commonwealth of Oceana, which was published in 1656.
“a commonwealth is an empire of laws and not of men”
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