Essays, Moral and Political

Overview

About two hundred and eighty pages, David Hume’s collection of essays, published in two volumes beginning in 1741 after his earlier Treatise of Human Nature had fallen genuinely flat with readers, and expanded and rearranged by Hume across the rest of his working life. The essays’ considerably warmer reception taught Hume something he applied for the remainder of his career, that the essay form’s brevity and accessibility could carry serious philosophical argument to readers his earlier, more systematic treatise had failed to reach.

The political essays treat the origin of government, the first principles of government, political parties, the independence of parliament, whether the British constitution inclines more toward absolute monarchy or a republic, the original contract, passive obedience, and the idea of a perfect commonwealth. Other essays take up the rise of the arts and sciences, national characters, superstition and enthusiasm, and commercial subjects that Adam Smith read closely, including money, interest, the balance of trade and the jealousy of trade.

What happens

The origin and principles of government. Hume’s political essays open by examining the origin of government and its first principles, applying his characteristic philosophical skepticism to questions about political authority that other writers of his period often treated as settled by inherited doctrine rather than genuinely open to critical examination.

The British constitution and parties. Hume examines whether the British constitution inclines more toward absolute monarchy or toward a republic, and addresses the role and independence of parliament and the nature of political parties, weighing competing considerations with genuine analytical care on questions that actively divided contemporary political opinion.

The original contract and passive obedience. Hume tests the actual philosophical coherence of the original contract as a foundation for legitimate government, and examines the related doctrine of passive obedience, subjecting both influential political concepts to the same skeptical scrutiny he brought to questions in metaphysics and epistemology.

The idea of a perfect commonwealth. Hume sketches his own idea of a perfect commonwealth, a speculative exercise in political design that lets him work through his accumulated political and constitutional arguments in the form of a positive proposal rather than purely critical examination of existing systems.

Superstition, enthusiasm and national character. Hume distinguishes superstition from enthusiasm as two genuinely different forms of religious excess with distinct political and social consequences, and examines the broader question of national character, considering how different peoples’ characteristic dispositions actually form and persist.

Commerce, money and the balance of trade. Hume’s commercial essays address money, interest, the balance of trade and the jealousy of trade with analytical rigor that Adam Smith would read closely while developing his own later, more systematic arguments, making these essays a genuine bridge between earlier mercantilist assumptions and the classical economics that followed.

How to read it

Read these essays as evidence of Hume’s own considered response to the Treatise’s disappointing reception; rather than abandoning philosophy after that early failure, Hume found in the essay form a genuinely effective vehicle for carrying serious philosophical argument to a broader readership than his earlier systematic treatise had reached.

Pay close attention to how consistently Hume’s political essays refuse easy partisan certainty, weighing competing considerations on genuinely contested questions like the British constitution’s actual character rather than declaring settled conclusions that would align neatly with either contemporary Whig or Tory political positions.

Notice how directly Hume’s commercial essays anticipate arguments Adam Smith would later develop more systematically in the Wealth of Nations; reading Hume’s essays on money, interest and trade alongside Smith’s later work reveals a genuine intellectual bridge between earlier mercantilist economic assumptions and classical economics.

Consider Hume’s distinction between superstition and enthusiasm as a genuinely useful analytical tool extending beyond its original historical context; the distinction between these two different forms of religious excess and their different political consequences remains relevant to understanding religious and ideological movements well beyond Hume’s own period.

Read these essays alongside Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature and his later Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding to see how the same underlying philosophical skepticism that shaped his epistemology and metaphysics also structures his approach to political and economic questions throughout these more accessible, essay-form writings.

Questions it raises

• Does Hume’s refusal to declare settled partisan conclusions on contested political questions, like the British constitution’s actual tendency, represent genuine philosophical even-handedness, or does this apparent neutrality itself constitute a substantive political position worth examining more critically?
• How persuasive is Hume’s critical examination of the original contract as a foundation for legitimate government? Does his skeptical treatment of this influential theory successfully undermine its usefulness, or does the theory retain value despite the philosophical problems Hume identifies?
• What does the documented direct influence of Hume’s commercial essays on Adam Smith’s later, more systematic economic arguments suggest about how significant economic ideas actually develop? Does this influence reveal genuine intellectual debt, or does Smith’s later work represent an independent achievement building on shared broader intellectual currents?
• How does Hume’s distinction between superstition and enthusiasm as different forms of religious excess with different political consequences hold up when applied to more recent examples of religious or ideological movements? Does this eighteenth-century analytical framework transfer usefully to contemporary contexts?
• Given that these essays succeeded with readers where the earlier Treatise had failed, what does this different reception suggest about the relationship between philosophical rigor and accessible presentation? Does the essay form’s brevity risk sacrificing genuine philosophical depth for broader readability?
• What does Hume’s speculative sketch of a perfect commonwealth accomplish that his more purely critical political essays could not? Does moving from critique toward positive proposal strengthen or weaken the overall persuasiveness of his broader political philosophy?