James Harrington | |
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Born | Upton, Northamptonshire, England | 3 January 1611
Died | 11 September 1677 Little Ambry, Dean's Yard, Westminster, England | (aged 66)
Resting place | St Margaret's, Westminster |
Language | English |
Nationality | English |
Citizenship | Kingdom of England (1611–1649; 1660–1677) Commonwealth of England (1649–1660) |
Education | Trinity College, Oxford |
Period | European wars of religion |
Genre | Utopian fiction |
Subject | Utopia, Republicanism |
Notable works | The Commonwealth of Oceana |
James Harrington (or Harington) (3 January 1611 – 11 September 1677) was an English political theorist of classical republicanism.[1] He is best known for his controversial publication The Commonwealth of Oceana (1656). This work was an exposition of an ideal constitution, a utopia, designed to facilitate the development of the English republic established after the regicide, the execution of Charles I in 1649.