Notes on "A History of Political Theory" -- Episode 17

For episode 16, see here

The Theory of the National State

XVII: Royalist and Anti-Royalist Theories
 A. Religious wars brought two sides of philosophy to fore,
     especially in France, people's right of defense vs divine right.
 B. Protestant attack om absolutism
       1. Constitutional argument based on medieval practices
           showing absolute monarchy to be an innovation
       2. Attempt to show philosophically that monarchy was
           contrary to universal rules of right supposed to underlie
           all government
       3. Vindiciae contra tyrannos was chief work of the French
           Protestants
           i. saw ruler as servant of the community, one that could do
             whatever its own life required
           ii. established two contracts, one of the people and king with
             God and another between the people and the king
           iii. king may be disobeyed when he goes against the 
              commands of God because people share the covenant
              with God and if they didn't take action would become
              co-conspirators
           iv. the second covenant justifies resistance to tyranny
              in secular government
           v. form of contract based largely on utilitarian agreement to
              render obedience to king to gain the benefit of protection
              of life and property
           vi. limits on the king based on his subjection to law
           vii. resistance was an expression of religion, a corporate right
               expressed through magistrates rather than by individuals
       4. Anti-royalists assumed law of nature and as defense of ancient
           liberties 
 C. Jesuits and the Pope
       1. Militant force of counter-Reformof the Roman Church
       2. Sought to reinstate spiritual leadership of Pope
       3. Kings power was from the people, only the Pope's authority
           came from God
           i. thus the king could not demand absolute obedience from
            subjects and;
           ii. Pope still could control the secular realm on spiritual
            matters
       4. Juan de Mariana saw the state of nature giving way to 
           civil society and saw the growth of government as a
           natural process and contended that the community
           controlled the rulers whom its needs created
       5. Francisco Suarez defended spiritual authority of the Pope
           but saw power of society to rule itself and its members as
           inherent property of social groups
 D. The Divine Right of Kings
       1. The attack on absolutism led to falling back on longstanding
           belief on the divinity of civil society
       2. Defense of a national establishment
       3. Rested on notion that authority had religious origin and
           sanction based on faith rather than on reason
       4. Saw law as residing 'in the breast of the king"
       5. James I defended monarchy's freedom from interference
       6. Pushed analogy of king as father to his children

Next week:  Jean Bodin

Notes on "A History of Political Theory" -- Episode 16

For episode 15, see here

The Theory of the National State

XVI: The Early Protestant Reformers 
 A. Reformation mixed political theory with differences of religious 
     belief and questions of theological dogma.
 B. Diversity of religious belief did not lead to toleration because all
     still saw themselves as right and their opponents as stupid
     and/or wicked.
 C. Religious reform and conflict depended on secular power thus
     strengthening royal power.
 D. Under the surface were strong minority groups that were potential
     sources of disorder.
       1. Out of diversity and necessity, minority groups led towards
          mutual political toleration 
       2. Right to resist "heretical" pope became right to resist a
          "heretical" king
 E. Led to conflict between divine right and popular right, both
     originally grounded in theology
 F. Martin Luther
       1. Remade arguments and charges of past centuries, especially
          the conciliar controversy
          i. saw church as the assembly of all believers 
          ii. saw clergy as serving callings useful to the community
           and answerable in temporal matters
       2. Using government to reform the Church led to creation of
           national churches 
       3. Asserted duty of passive obedience to the ruler
       4. Stressed other-worldliness of religion with acquiescence to
           worldly power 
 G. Calvinism and the power of the church 
       1. Impact of sect in opposition to specific governments meant
           the spread of the justification of resistance 
       2. Viewed the church as the standard bearer of morals with
           secular power as the enforcing arm; as in the Middle Ages
       3. Taught self-control and discipline in the struggle of life
       4. God seen as sovereign, saving men by fore-ordination rather
           than own good works
       5. Secular institutions existed as the "external means of salvation"
       6. Not given to monarchical attachments, therefore often in
           opposition to the monarchy 
 H. John Calvin taught passive obedience to secular authority, had
     no theory of popular rights
 I. John Knox turned supremacy of the church to mode of resistance
     to the state (Scotland) that did not recognize "true faith"
       1. This involved rejection of passive obedience
       2. Resistance became part of the duty to sustain religious reform

Next week: Royalist and anti-Royalist Theories