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Lawrence Levine

On Horizontal and Vertical Approaches to Intellectual History

Zachary D. Carter’s terrific new study, The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy and the Life of John Maynard Keynes, offers an excellent starting off point for thinking about varieties of intellectual history.[i] This is not a comprehensive review of the book. Instead, it is an exploration of what I will call “horizontal” and “vertical” approaches in intellectual history. My reflections here are tentative and schematic, with the recognition that these terms don’t perfectly capture the differences that I seek to explore. I hope this piece generates further elaboration of the differences or even a reasoned rejection of the framework I Read more