Local virtues: The case of the circus

The chapter uses evidence from a contemporary study of circus careers alongside historic first- and third-person accounts to argue that the nomadic nature of circus work provides a telling counter-example to any contrast between the merely “local” and the “universal”. Whilst the importance of particular virtues varies between circus practices – the trapeze artiste requires courage in a way that the clown does not – the commitment of circus people to the common goods of their community, the risks inherent in circus work, and the relative immunity of its practitioners from the lures of external goods, qualifies it as the type of community that fosters virtue. Examples such as the circus provide material for classroom activities that enable students to work beyond familiar settings as they consider a context which bears comparison to those in which systematic consideration of the virtues began. Charles Dickens is not alone in believing that the circus provides a notable contrast to modernity.