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ON SOVEREIGNTY AND THE STATE
Overview
Who was Jean Bodin?What is a State? What is Sovereignty?What is the most dangerous
cause of social revolution?
Context
Intellectual Influences on Modern Political Thought:
1. Renaissance
2. Enlightenment
Context
Socio-political Influences on Modern Political Thought
1. Industrial Revolution
2. American Revolution
3. French Revolution
4. Treaty of Westphalia
Jean Bodin (1530-1596)
Catholic French jurist and natural law philosopher
Lived during a time of religious turmoil in France
Among the first philosophers to attempt a technical discussion of sovereignty
What is a State?
“The state is a lawful government with sovereign power, of different households and their common affairs.”
- Jean Bodin
(The Six Books on the State)
What is a State?
Hence, today we speak of the elements of a state– Territory– People– Government– Sovereignty
Of these, sovereignty endows the state with its identity
What is Sovereignty?
“Sovereignty is the absolute and perpetual power of the state, that is, the greatest power to command.”
- Jean Bodin
(The Six Books on the State)
What is Sovereignty?
“Sovereignty is the absolute and perpetual power of the state, that is, the greatest power to command.”
- Jean Bodin
(The Six Books on the State)
Sovereignty: Absolute
By absolute, we mean that no higher authority exists over the sovereign
Hence, rulers are not bound by laws
Rulers are bound by “contracts”
Sovereignty: Perpetual
By perpetual, we mean that it is not bound by tenure
At its crudest, it means that sovereignty lasts as long as the lifetime of he who possesses the power
Other Characteristics
Sovereignty resides in the people or absolute monarchs
Both have the right to recall the authority they bestow
All political authorities are but custodians/agents of sovereign power
On Social Revolution
The most important cause of social revolution is excessive wealth and poverty within the state
Although equality is said to foster peace, absolute equality is equally problematic
SummarySovereignty is the fundamental
characteristic of a stateSovereignty is both absolute and
perpetualRulers are merely custodians of
sovereigntyFor a state’s stability, equity is
more important than equality