Perpetual Peace: A Philosophic Essay (Hastie Translation)

Immanuel Kant (1724 to 1804) wrote Perpetual Peace in 1795, when he was in his seventies. The essay appeared at a moment when the French Revolution was reshaping Europe, and it proposes a framework in which states could live together without constant war. Its form borrows from the language of diplomacy: preliminary articles that every government can follow at once, definitive articles that would build a lasting order, a supplement on the guarantee of peace and two appendices on the relation between morality and politics.

Kant argues that peace must be established, since the natural condition among nations is not peace but a threat of war. He proposes republican constitutions, a federation of free states and a law of world citizenship based on hospitality. Many readers have seen in these ideas a distant ancestor of later international organizations, although Kant himself was cautious about what could be achieved.

This recording follows the English translation by W. Hastie (1842 to 1903), which was published in 1891. It is divided into five chapters, with a total running time of just over two hours. Listeners who are interested in political philosophy, in the history of international relations, or simply in the question of whether peace can be organized, will find it compact and readable. The text is concise, the argument is orderly, and the reading is clear. Listeners may like to follow it with Kant's other essays on history and politics, which develop similar ideas about progress and the use of reason. It is short enough to hear in an afternoon, and rich enough to hear again.