In The History of the Union of Great Britain (Edinburgh, 1709), Daniel Defoe wrote about the political phenomenon of the Anglo-Scottish Union. For him, it was not simply about political strategy or reason of state. Instead, he believed that in the complex politics of the day, divine providence was at work: “By what strange Mystery, concurring Providence, like the Wheel within all their Wheels, center’d them all, in Uniting the Nations” (47). Defoe had become convinced that in politics, as well as in commerce, “consequences” were decided not by the “Designs of Parties,” but rather by “The Nature of Things.” In modern terms, life was controlled by “self-organizing systems” and these systems had their own logic. The message was clear: A certain faith was necessary that human events would be guided by God, whether humans wanted it or not.
This is the central argument of Sheehan and Wahrman’s ambitious book....