Augustine and the Limits of Politics (Frank M.Covey, Jr., Loyola Lectures in Political Analysis) by Jean Bethke Elshtain

by Jean Bethke Elshtain

"Augustine has proven himself a valuable companion on Elshtain's journey, and many readers will find her a fascinating fellow traveler on journeys of their own". -- The New Oxford Review "Elshtain invites us to dispel our preconceptions and see Augustine for the magnificent and most benign force he is. She has succeeded admirably in giving us a new Augustine; one whose thoughts on every aspect of the condition of humanity Elshtain presents with grace and lucidity". -- George Kateb, Princeton University

Genres: Philosophy, Politics, Theology, Religion, Christian

Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Jean Bethke Elshtain is an American political philosopher. She is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School, and is a contributing editor for The New Republic. She is, in addition, newly the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Chair in the Foundations of American Freedom at Georgetown University. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and she has served on the Boards of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and the National Humanities Center. She is also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and has received nine honorary degrees. In 2002, Elshtain received the Frank J. Goodnow award, the highest award for distinguished service to the profession given by the American Political Science Association.

The focus of Elshtain's work is an exploration of the relationship between politics and ethics. Much of her work is concerned with the parallel development of male and female gender roles as they pertain to public and private social participation. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks she has been one of the more visible academic supporters of U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Jean Bethke Elshtain, scholar of religion and political philosophy, 1941-2013 http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2013...

Reviews

[Matthew Loftus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief, lively engagement with Augustine and contemporary political theory.

[Simon Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This great little book does a number of important things. First it makes St Augustine relevant for the modern reader and clears away the hundreds of years between us and him. Elshtain demolishes some of the prejudices that might keep us away from him. Second it offers insight to a way of thinking about society and politics which is rooted in love, but which is realistic about the nature of man.

Here's just one example - Augustine on the wonder of human diversity:

"Could anyone fail to see, on rational consideration, how marvellous it is that, despite the countless numbers of mankind, and despite the great similarity among men through their possession of a common nature, each individual has his own unique appearance? The truth is that if there were not this underlying similarity man could not be distinguished as a separate species from the other animals, while at the same time, without those individual differences, one man could not be distinguished from another. Thus we acknowledge that men are alike, and equally we discover that they are different. Now it is the observation of the differences between men that should arouse our wonder; for the likeness would seem to be normal, as something demanded by our common nature. And yet because it is rarities that arouse wonder, we are much more astonished when we find two people so alike that we are always, or very frequently making mistakes when we try to distinguish them."

[Abdur-Rahman Syed · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want read St. Augustine but are intimidated by the size and density of City of God , this is the book for you. It's not a Cliff Notes summary--rather it pulls out and elaborates on what I find most relevant about St. Augustine's vision of politics--that it is necessary but also necessarily flawed. The good life, in other words, lies beyond politics.

And, of course, Elshtain is worth reading on her own. One of a rare breed today of serious intellectuals who take religion seriously.

[Nathan Sexten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this fairly quickly, but I think that is what it is a perfect use for. It gives an overview of how to begin applying Augustinian thought to various issues and correctly reading Augustine. I'd be curious to re-read this at some point once I'm further along in studying Augustine and the discussions regarding his work.

[Joe Natali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elshtain provides an extremely compelling discussion of Augustine's political theory.