Jason Kuznicki

The Modern Omnipotent State

This chapter examines the role of the state in the political theories of G.W.F. Hegel, Karl Marx and Franz Oppenheimer. Hegel holds that the state is the realization of an unfolding truth, and that history is the story of a mind or a spirit coming to understand itself. Hegel’s philosophy is criticized from a variety of standpoints, notably that it lacks any independent standpoint from which to criticize state action. Karl Marx’s approach to the state represents a significant improvement, in that states are shown to be historically contingent and dependent on varying levels technological progress, a finding that appears broadly true even if one rejects the Marxist synthesis overall. Franz Oppenheimer argues that the proper role of the state is to make itself unnecessary, and that the end of history takes the form of a “free citizenship,” in which no states exist at all.

The Social Contractarians: Can an Agreement Specify What Government Is For?

This chapter examines Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant, paying particular attention to the purpose that each inferred for the existence of government. Hobbes intends government to prevent violence and obtain security; it is argued that his political theory nonetheless leaves more room for individual liberty than is commonly acknowledged. Locke finds the purpose of government is to serve as a mediator or arbitrator, so that no one judges his own case. Property rights are not creations of government. For Rousseau, government protects virtue, although no existing government enjoys particularly good prospects. Kant situated the purpose of government in the future, in the establishment of a cosmopolitan world order whose full outlines remain unknown, but that respects universal human rights.

Christianity and the City of Man: From Retreat to Reform

The rise of Christianity and the fall of Rome prompted new thinking about the relationship between state and self. Augustine of Hippo openly doubted political obligation when it conflicted with religious obligation, and he described the earthly state as a curse. His thought is connected both to modern anarchism and to the public choice school of economics. Although Augustine would have established a theocracy, one can easily imagine the establishment of a Christian anarchism instead, in the manner of Leo Tolstoy.

The State Is a Bundle

Teleological accounts of the state are examined and rejected owing both to inherent problems with teleology and to methodological individualism. A new theory of the state is presented, in which the state is a bundle or agglomeration of uses of the political means—that is, uses of violence—that do not necessarily serve any coherent purpose. The sorites paradox is deployed as a tool to consider anarchies, states and utopias of various descriptions. The state emerges not as a discrete set of entities, but as a discursive formation.

The March of the State in the Early Modern World

Renaissance thinkers revive Platonic ideas about the relationship between state and individual. These are to the detriment of individual liberty. The works of Niccolo Machiavelli and Tommaso Campanella are examined; Machiavelli is shown to exhibit significant similarities to Plato in his treatment of religion, military valor, and the noble lie. Campanella is even more Platonist and relies on astrology to order his imagined utopia. Jacques-Benigne Bossuet promotes a theory of royal absolutism that accords well with the court of Louis XIV, but that is normatively flawed. It is argued that Bossuet’s system nonetheless reflects absolutism in practice much better than those of Robert Filmer or Thomas Hobbes.

The Structures of Political Theory

Political theorists historically occupy a specific place: They either seek or enjoy the favor of the powerful. Theory written from this standpoint is obviously biased toward the state and its functionaries. Writing and reading about utopias is likewise enjoyable; this enjoyment biases political theory toward simple and comprehensive approaches. Increasingly, however, political theory and history are written from independent positions, from which power may be criticized freely, and from which new subjects of examination take precedence. New forms of history and theory are therefore being produced.

Some Objections to the Theory

Max Weber’s definition of the modern state is compared and contrasted to the account offered in the previous chapter. The two are distinguished from one another, but both are found useful. Deontological libertarianism, as championed by Murray Rothbard, condemns all states for perpetration of violence and violation of property rights. This view is examined sympathetically but ultimately rejected. Necessary conditions for the formation of an ordered anarchy are examined.

The Ancient State and the Myth of Marathon

Jason Kuznicki reviews the role of the state or polity in ancient historiography and philosophy. He reviews authors including Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle and Tacitus and argues that ancient Greek and Roman cultures tended to place the state rhetorically at the center of society, and to make of it a theater of virtue, in which individual character was tested. Self-sacrifice for the benefit of the state was commonly considered the highest virtue. Idealized states, such as those found in the Republic and the Laws, commonly relied on imaginary technologies, saving them from empirical testing while propagating the ideal of an all-powerful state.

The Ancient Dissenters

Jason Kuznicki reviews ancient sources that were skeptical of political authority, including particularly the Epicureans and Stoics, who laid the foundations for future theories of limited government and cosmopolitanism. Antiphon the Sophist, Diogenes and Cicero are examined, paying particular attention to the role they assigned to political power in their social theories. Connections are drawn between these authors and classical liberalism. It is noted that absent a viable theory of economics, adequate justification for limited government is exceptionally difficult.

Introduction: The March of God in the World

Jason Kuznicki notes that the state is commonly described as central or focal in political theory from ancient times nearly to the present. Modern technology, however, is prompting a re-evaluation of the role of the state. The canonical authors stand in need of re-appraisal in light of new information and changing social conditions.