As várias faces de um ator político

En este artículo se pretende demostrar que la ciencia política de James Harrington (1611-1677) tenía la intención de crear un complejo modelo republicano como solución a la crisis constitucional en Inglaterra durante la década de 1650. Pero, antes de presentar a sus contemporáneos su modelo de república, Harrington consideró necesario investigar por qué el poder soberano se rompió en 1640. Su punto de partida era más bien empírico que especulativo o abstracto. A pesar de que las fundaciones o relaciones materiales basados en la libre propiedad ejercieran un rol decisivo en la ciencia política de Harrington, la acción humana seria imprescindible para producir un orden político perfecto. This article aims at showing that the political science of James Harrington (1611-1677) was intended to create a complex republican model as a remedy to the constitutional crisis in England during the 1650's. But, before presenting his model of republic to his contemporaries, Harrington thought it was necessary to investigate why sovereign power collapsed in 1640. His starting point was rather empirical than speculative or abstract. Despite the decisive part played in Harrington's political science by foundations or material relations based on freehold property, human agency was also considered altogether necessary to produce a perfect political order.