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Politica
Drawing deeply from Aristotle and biblical teaching, Politica presents a unique vision of the commonwealth as a harmonious ordering of natural associations. According to Althusius, the purpose of the state is to protect and encourage social life. The family is the most natural of human associations, and all other unions derive from it. Power and authority properly grow from more local to more general associations. Johannes Althusius (1557–1638) was a German political and legal philosopher. Frederick S. Carney was Professor Emeritus of Ethics at the Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Daniel J. Elazar was Director of the Center for the Study of Federalism at Temple University and Professor of Political Science at Temple and at Bar Ilan University in Israel. Please This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1603
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 16, 2011
A true classic of Western political thought, and one of the finest flowerings of political theory in the Calvinist tradition. Althusius's federalist model helped renew my love for political theory, and my faith in the possibilities of politics.
Althusius is a rather clunky and often tedious writer, which is part of why he was denied access to the five-star club, but Carney's translation and abridgement did an excellent job of sanding down some of the rougher edges. I'm usually very suspicious of abridgements, but Carney's was effective and judicious--there were only one or two points at which I was like, "What? Ellipses? It was just getting interesting, Carney--why'd you cut that part?"
Althusius is a rather clunky and often tedious writer, which is part of why he was denied access to the five-star club, but Carney's translation and abridgement did an excellent job of sanding down some of the rougher edges. I'm usually very suspicious of abridgements, but Carney's was effective and judicious--there were only one or two points at which I was like, "What? Ellipses? It was just getting interesting, Carney--why'd you cut that part?"
October 14, 2019
Politica, de Johannes Althusius est le livre que j'aurais voulu lire dix ans plus tôt. Elaborant à partir de la plus pure tradition réformée, Althusius (juriste de profession et édile d'une grande ville allemande au 17e siècle) dessine à quoi ressemble une vision politique réformée.
Il en ressort une vision pragmatique, qui part de la réalité et non d'une chimère philosophique, ce qui renverse complètement la plupart des visions modernes et post-modernes. Althusius fonde son système sur des communautés, qui s'entendent pour former des "communautés de communautés" etc jusqu'à l'imperium. C'est donc une vision fédérale (et non centralisée) bâtie du bas vers le haut. Le genre de vision très attirante dans une société fragmentée et dirigée de façon absurde du haut vers le bas.
Pour sur, la vision a besoin d'être adaptée et mise à jour, et elle n'est pas facile à mettre en oeuvre en l'état (sa vision des relations église-état demande notamment une révolution dans l'église). Mais Seigneur que c'est un bon livre. Juste une chose à reprocher: un style très aride et très scolaire. Mais il a l'avantage de la clarté et d'être exhaustif.
Il en ressort une vision pragmatique, qui part de la réalité et non d'une chimère philosophique, ce qui renverse complètement la plupart des visions modernes et post-modernes. Althusius fonde son système sur des communautés, qui s'entendent pour former des "communautés de communautés" etc jusqu'à l'imperium. C'est donc une vision fédérale (et non centralisée) bâtie du bas vers le haut. Le genre de vision très attirante dans une société fragmentée et dirigée de façon absurde du haut vers le bas.
Pour sur, la vision a besoin d'être adaptée et mise à jour, et elle n'est pas facile à mettre en oeuvre en l'état (sa vision des relations église-état demande notamment une révolution dans l'église). Mais Seigneur que c'est un bon livre. Juste une chose à reprocher: un style très aride et très scolaire. Mais il a l'avantage de la clarté et d'être exhaustif.
October 1, 2018
Read years ago and revisited bits and pieces now. Althusius is a model of political wisdom and prudence .
April 20, 2024
Based; protestant political orthodoxy.
Check the "Christian Nationalist" debate at the door. Demands a more thorough analysis.
Check the "Christian Nationalist" debate at the door. Demands a more thorough analysis.
October 12, 2024
Required reading. Wonderful companion piece to be read alongside Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos & Lex Rex. The most comprehensive and, I think, accessible of the three as well.
November 10, 2016
Obra excelente de um dos principais cientistas político no qual foram responsáveis de gerar praticamente a base da política ocidental. O melhor de tudo é que estamos falando de um homem cujo seus fundamentos são essencialmente calvinistas, portanto, bíblicas.
Independente das discordâncias que eu possa ter com o livro, é uma obra excelente.
Recomendo.
Independente das discordâncias que eu possa ter com o livro, é uma obra excelente.
Recomendo.
December 28, 2016
What would it look like if a society were completely covenantal? Althusius paints a fairly compelling picture. In his political treatise the idea of "covenant" permeates every social relation: covenants are all the way down. His key argument is the rights of sovereignty are proper to the realm, not the magistrate (7). He develops this to mean that the realm are the estates (what he calls 'collegia'). They are prior to the king and constitute the king. As a result, there are several rights in which the king can never be invested, including the right to absolute power.
The argument makes sense. If the king gets his legitimacy from the collegia, and the collegia do not give him absolute power (because it is impossible for mortals to have that), then the king cannot rule absolutely.
For Althusius Politics is the art of associating men for the purpose of establishing, cultivating, and conserving social life. Althusius calls this phenomenon “symbiotics.” Ownership of a realm belongs to the estates and administration of it belongs to the king (66).
Althusius has a neat essay on the rule of "ephors".
This is a fascinating early account of Calvinist political theory which would later develop into Rutherford's Lex, Rex.
The argument makes sense. If the king gets his legitimacy from the collegia, and the collegia do not give him absolute power (because it is impossible for mortals to have that), then the king cannot rule absolutely.
For Althusius Politics is the art of associating men for the purpose of establishing, cultivating, and conserving social life. Althusius calls this phenomenon “symbiotics.” Ownership of a realm belongs to the estates and administration of it belongs to the king (66).
Althusius has a neat essay on the rule of "ephors".
This is a fascinating early account of Calvinist political theory which would later develop into Rutherford's Lex, Rex.
June 5, 2024
Very stimulating and helpful. Certainly don't agree with everything in here (such as his baldly false and very Presbyterian reading of Matthew 13's Parable of the Tares), but Althusius makes a lot of good sense, and the more casually he writes, the better I like reading him (the final few chapters are my favorite). It was in reading the second to last chapter, "Tyranny and Its Remedies", that I had a sort of epiphany, as I saw him make the claim that all absolute power is tyrannical and is also blasphemous.
This is because absolute power puts the human will of the tyrant above any law, including God's law. I then applied this to an absolute democracy, and it struck me that the will of a multitude is no more able to be a law unto itself than the will of a single person. This book didn't turn me into a Christian Nationalist, but it has made me more sympathetic to certain arguments that some of them make.
This is because absolute power puts the human will of the tyrant above any law, including God's law. I then applied this to an absolute democracy, and it struck me that the will of a multitude is no more able to be a law unto itself than the will of a single person. This book didn't turn me into a Christian Nationalist, but it has made me more sympathetic to certain arguments that some of them make.
December 22, 2025
Masterful. This should be essential reading for all who call themselves Christians today, particularly those who call themselves Reformed/Evangelical/Protestant, so that they may see how drastically they have diverged from the consensus of their forefathers in matters of politics and civil government.
December 20, 2024
Excellent
I am going to mark this book as twice read bc there is another book I have read that is not on here.
“The New Nobility of Blood and Soil” by Richard Darre
Read: Dec. 2024
Review: 4 Stars; Surprisingly good.
I am going to mark this book as twice read bc there is another book I have read that is not on here.
“The New Nobility of Blood and Soil” by Richard Darre
Read: Dec. 2024
Review: 4 Stars; Surprisingly good.
December 18, 2023
Great... except the overlap of the sphere of magistrate's control of ecclesial matters.
June 5, 2024
This is the guy
July 13, 2024
Check out this essay I published for my thoughts! (p. 44)
https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/di...
https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/di...
August 28, 2014
Publicado em português pela Topbooks Editora, em 2003, sob o título "Política". 404 p.
Grata surpresa me acometeu quando, já prestes a sair de uma livraria em que me encontrava, deparei-me com o livro de Althusius enquanto dava aquela última olhadela nas estantes. Não tive a menor dúvida: comprei na mesma hora (era o último exemplar). Apesar de já ter ouvido falar do autor, eu não sabia que sua mais famosa obra já tinha sido publicada há mais de dez anos em português, e ainda mais por uma editora secular.
Sobre o livro, gostei muito. Apesar de se tratar de uma obra com exatos quatrocentos anos de idade (considerando a sua edição final — feita pelo próprio autor —, que é de 1614), suas propostas e princípios permanecem muito atuais, uma vez que Althusius é considerado por alguns como o pai do republicanismo moderno. Se bem situarmos a sua obra no contexto em que foi concebida, veremos que o seu autor ainda tem muito a nos ensinar (especialmente no que se refere à necessidade de um estado mínimo, no qual as associações voluntárias são o verdadeiro motor do progresso e do bom convívio).
Recomendo urgentemente essa obra a todos os cristãos que, como eu, querem pensar na política a partir de uma perspectiva realmente bíblica, a partir do que há de melhor na tradição reformada.
(Só não dei cinco estrelas porque o editor da obra, ao resumi-la, omitiu muitas informações que eu, particularmente, gostaria que tivessem sido mantidas — especialmente as digressões de Althusius sobre determinados autores e livros, e até mesmo textos bíblicos. No mais, o trabalho editorial ficou excelente).
Grata surpresa me acometeu quando, já prestes a sair de uma livraria em que me encontrava, deparei-me com o livro de Althusius enquanto dava aquela última olhadela nas estantes. Não tive a menor dúvida: comprei na mesma hora (era o último exemplar). Apesar de já ter ouvido falar do autor, eu não sabia que sua mais famosa obra já tinha sido publicada há mais de dez anos em português, e ainda mais por uma editora secular.
Sobre o livro, gostei muito. Apesar de se tratar de uma obra com exatos quatrocentos anos de idade (considerando a sua edição final — feita pelo próprio autor —, que é de 1614), suas propostas e princípios permanecem muito atuais, uma vez que Althusius é considerado por alguns como o pai do republicanismo moderno. Se bem situarmos a sua obra no contexto em que foi concebida, veremos que o seu autor ainda tem muito a nos ensinar (especialmente no que se refere à necessidade de um estado mínimo, no qual as associações voluntárias são o verdadeiro motor do progresso e do bom convívio).
Recomendo urgentemente essa obra a todos os cristãos que, como eu, querem pensar na política a partir de uma perspectiva realmente bíblica, a partir do que há de melhor na tradição reformada.
(Só não dei cinco estrelas porque o editor da obra, ao resumi-la, omitiu muitas informações que eu, particularmente, gostaria que tivessem sido mantidas — especialmente as digressões de Althusius sobre determinados autores e livros, e até mesmo textos bíblicos. No mais, o trabalho editorial ficou excelente).
May 27, 2025
Johannes Althusius served as a Syndic in Emden from 1604 to 1638. He organized his political theory by justice, truth, and wisdom. The Bible and its covenants are the foundation. Politics is the association of men to establish, cultivate, and conserve social life. Symbiosis leads to communication, the sharing of things, services, and law. Communication requires imperium. God designed men to lead. Fair concord is when right, liberty, and honor belong to each citizen according to his status. The family and collegium are private associations. The husband leads the family. The paterfamilias leads the kinship association. A leader the colleagues elect leads the collegium. These lead to public associations of cities, provinces, and commonwealths. A prefect leads a city, an association with laws, families, and collegia in the same place. The presbytery must ensure right teaching of God without heresy. Diversity destroys unity. A bishop leads the diocese. A duke administers provinces. The provincial head is to watch over sacred and secular affairs for God’s glory and the people’s good. He exercises justice, correction, and support. The commonwealth’s members are its cities, provinces, and regions. The right binds the members in good order. The realm must maintain commercial laws, currency, common language, public duties, and titles. The realm must provide for protection and defense. God has placed the common law upon all people. Proper law is the application of the common law to specific nations. The best polity combines kingship, aristocracy, and democracy. Sovereignty belongs to the people. The prince is the steward. The translator abridged the text’s quotations.
November 20, 2023
Althusius is being rediscovered for various reasons, chief among which I think might be his understanding of subsidiarity and how a realm comes to exist. I would advise perhaps reading Plato, Aristotle and Cicero's political works first, as Althusius does fall back on these quite a lot. Bodin's thesis of a king above the law is also important to Althusius, and briefly reading up on that before engaging on this journey might be worth it.
Not that the English version currently available is an abbreviation of the full text, no full text is available in a modern language to my knowledge, with a French one to be released early in 2024 as the first of its kind.
Not that the English version currently available is an abbreviation of the full text, no full text is available in a modern language to my knowledge, with a French one to be released early in 2024 as the first of its kind.
October 25, 2009
Great. Must read.
Too much to comment on.
Too much to comment on.
July 21, 2015
Great stuff. Only an abridged translation, so some parts are missing.
Read
September 23, 2010POLITICA by JOHANNES ALTHUSIUS (1995)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews