The Political Psychology of Religion in Plato's Laws

1976 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 1059-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Pangle

This paper explains Plato's conception of the relation between politics and “political religion” (ideology) in a nonliberal participatory republican system. The discussion is in the form of a commentary on the drama of a part of Plato's Laws. The underlying methodological assumption is that Plato presented his political teaching not so much through the speeches as through the drama of the dialogue, and that he held this to be the most appropriate form for political science because in this way political science can most effectively stimulate thought about its subject matter, the psyche involved in social action.Following Plato, we focus first on the psychological needs such a political system generates and attempts to satisfy through civil religion. We then move to a consideration of how political “theology” serves to mediate between science and society, or the philosopher and the city.The essay is intended to contribute to the Montesquieuian project engaging the attention of more and more political theorists: the endeavor to help contemporary political science and psychology escape from the trammeling parochialism of exclusive attention to twentieth century theoretical categories and empirical experiences.

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-72
Author(s):  
Jerónimo Molina-Cano

This article analyzes the democratic thought of the philosopher Jacques Maritain. A methodical reading of the integrity of his political work published since the 20s demonstrates a great continuity in the defense of a univocal concept of democratic governance, called social democracy, new Christianity, integral democracy or organic democracy in order to accommodate his thought to the political circumstances. Starting from the principle of superiority of spiritual power, Maritain has redefined the notion of democracy in an anti-rousseaunian sense. Maritain postulates a community and pluralist regime under a presidential government and non partitocratic political system. Maritainian democracy and the secular faith that must animate it, based on human rights, is conceived as an antidote against liberal neutralism and against the totalitarian temptation of a democracy understood as a political religion.


Author(s):  
POLLY LOW

This chapter discusses one of the best-known instances of classical commemoration: the public funeral and collective burial and commemoration of the Athenian war dead. Its particular aim is to explore the various contexts in which Athenian practice might be understood. How do these monuments fit into the wider picture of Athenian burial and commemoration, in terms of both form and physical location? How do they relate to the political system and ideology of the city that created them? And how might these contexts shape the way in which the monuments were used and understood by contemporary and later viewers?


1985 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean C. Oi

Despite its widespread currency in political science, the concept of clientelism has rarely found its way into the literature on communist systems. Students of communist politics regularly note the importance of personal ties, and many recognize the significance of informal bonds in economic and political spheres atalllevels of society. Some even apply the term “clientelism” to the political behavior they describe. Yet these studies are generally limited to elite-level politics, to factionalism, career mobility, recruitment patterns, and attainment of office at the top- to middle-level echelons of the bureaucracy.2Few have considered clientelism as a type of elite-mass linkage through which the state and the party exercise control at the local level, and through which individuals participate in the political system.


1963 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Halpern

This article attempts to set forth, in as nearly comprehensive and organized a manner as possible, a range of problems referring to the political development of Communist China whose investigation would not only advance our understanding of contemporary Chinese politics but would also produce results of value for the general study of politics. Our focus is particularly, but not exclusively, on events since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Our procedure is to move from the general to the specific: that is, to inquire, first, what are the most general classes of political phenomena with which the Chinese political system has affinities; second, what are the most general developmental trends which can be observed in the Chinese revolution; and third, what are the particular aspects of the dynamics of the Chinese political system which offer rewarding opportunities for research.


1953 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Garceau ◽  
David Easton

2016 ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Farías Carrión

ResumenLas claves políticas con las que convive la ciudadanía en Chile son expuestasen este documento como un proceso institucional de un profundo espírituconservador: Estado subsidiario, democracia protegida y el gasto socialfocalizado como medio de inversión es lo que caracterizaría la esencia delsistema político hoy. El documento identifica la desigualdad entre los espacioslocales y su relación de dependencia como consecuencia de la administracióndel Estado subsidiario, y su pretensión de desarrollar una fórmula neoliberalpara la satisfacción de necesidades individuales. Esta fórmula cobra relevanciacuando se observa a los espacios locales, dado que la misma lógica opera paraestos, dejando en evidencia que la capacidad de desarrollo de cada comunaestá determinada por sus propios atributos y competitividad, en un contextode mercado desregulado y en ausencia de planificación territorial a escalaregional o metropolitana. Es en este contexto que la democracia local se velimitada por su falta de comprensión de un territorio mayor y de la ciudadcomo un todo, siendo ineficaz para una distribución de poder más profunda.Palabras clave: Estado subsidiario, territorio, democracia, espacio locales.Subsidiary State: limits and projections of theterritorial democracy in ChileAbstractThis document presents the political clues coexisting in Chilean citizenship asan institutional process of deep conservatism: subsidiary State, protected democracyand targeted social spending as a means of investment characterize the essence of the political system today. The document identifies inequalitiesamong areas and their dependence resulting from the subsidiary State administrationand its attempt to develop a neoliberal formula for the satisfactionof individual needs. This formula becomes important when viewed in localareas, since the same logic applies to them, making it clear that the developmentcapacity of each municipality is determined by its own attributes andcompetitiveness in a deregulated market context and in the absence of spatialplanning at regional or metropolitan scale. In this context, local democracy islimited by its lack of compression of a broader territory and the city as a whole,being ineffective for achieving a deeper distribution of powers.Keywords: Subsidiary State, territory, democracy, local space.Estado subsidiário: limites e projeções dademocracia territorial no ChileResumoAs chaves políticas com as quais convive a cidadania no Chile sãoapresentadas neste documento como um processo institucional de umprofundo espirito conservador: Estado subsidiário, democracia protegida egasto social direcionado como meio de investimento é o que caracterizariaa essência do sistema político hoje. O documento identifica a desigualdadeentre os espaços locais e a sua relação de dependência como resultado daadministração do Estado subsidiário, e sua pretensão de desenvolver umafórmula neoliberal para a satisfação das necessidades individuais. Estafórmula torna-se importante quando se observa aos espaços locais, dado quea mesma lógica opera para estes, deixando em evidencia que a capacidadede desenvolvimento de cada município é determinada por seus própriosatributos e competitividade num contexto de mercado desregulamentado ena ausência de planejamento territorial à escala regional ou metropolitana. Éneste contexto que a democracia local é limitada pela sua falta de compressãode um território maior e da cidade como um todo, sendo ineficaz para umadistribuição de poder mais profunda.Palavras-chave: Estado subsidiário, território, democracia, espaço local.


Sociologija ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-44
Author(s):  
Vera Backovic

The aim of the paper is to analyze changes of the city in the process of post socialist transformation. The changes in the political system and economy led to establishment of local authorities and urban economy, witch became main factors of urban development. Much attention is played to commercial property (office space and retail) because their fast development is the most visible change in the post socialist city.


2019 ◽  
pp. 182-206
Author(s):  
Paul Thagard

The crucial bridge between observations and values in the study of justice is vital needs, which must be satisfied if people are going to function as human beings. A just society meets both the biological needs of all its members for water, food, shelter, and health care and the psychological needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Justice does not require complete equality of wealth, income, or preference satisfaction, as long as people are equal in having their vital needs satisfied. The needs-sufficiency view of social justice has strong implications for establishing political and legal justice, including taking into account the needs of future generations. To contribute to social justice, the political system in a country needs to support the population’s vital needs. Democracy is the best available system for accomplishing this support.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 248-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Zavos

The cultural geographer Lily Kong argues that spatial analysis is vital for an interrogation of the contemporary complexity of religion. Building on this observation and broader theoretical understandings of the dynamics of space and place, this paper asks what happens when religious ideas and organisations are implicated in contemporary social action initiatives in ethnically diverse cities. Drawing on ethnographic data, it provides a detailed spatial analysis of a range of initiatives aimed at combatting food insecurity and other forms of deprivation in the city of Bradford in northern England. It examines how and why certain types of religious institution are dominant in the delivery of social action and explores the political significance of more fluid initiatives conducted by religiously diverse independent agents. The paper concludes that initiatives such as street kitchens and foodbanks are playing an important role in recalibrating the social location of religion in contemporary multicultural environments.


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