2010 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 704-705
Author(s):  
John Sullivan
Keyword(s):  

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-164
Author(s):  
Autumn Ridenour
Keyword(s):  

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1036-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL LAMB

Many political theorists dismiss Augustine as a pessimist about politics, assuming his “otherworldly” account of love precludes hope for this-worldly politics. This article challenges this pessimism by applying recent research on Augustine's “order of love” to reconstruct his implicit order of hope. Analyzing neglected sermons, letters, and treatises, I argue that Augustine encourages hope for temporal goods as long as that hope is rightly ordered and avoids the corresponding vices of presumption and despair. I then identify “civic peace” as a common object of hope that diverse citizens can share. By recovering hope as a virtue and reframing civic peace as a positive form of civic friendship, I argue that Augustine commends a hope for the commonwealth that avoids both presumption and despair. I conclude by analyzing how Augustine's vision of the commonwealth can inform contemporary political theory and practice.


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