Economising Natural Law: Pufendorf on Moral Quantities and Sumptuary Legislation

Pufendorf’s theory of moral entities imposes a normative grid upon an indifferent world and articulates the positive, non-metaphysical nature of morality. This chapter focuses especially on the function of moral quantities, which set the prices of things and the esteem of persons. It clarifies the moral economy constituted by these values through an examination of Pufendorf’s view of sumptuary laws and their role in the state. The need to calculate particular values within a broader normative context shows also how Pufendorf’s method is both demonstrative and casuistic.

Adam Smith on Liberty ‘in our present sense of the word’

The paper explores what Smith’s self-conscious reference to freedom ‘in our present sense of the word’ reveals about his understanding of modernity. Using the exact textual reference in the Wealth of Nations, a distinction is drawn between private (discretionary) and civic liberty. The latter is outmoded as manifest in its support for sumptuary legislation and its embodiment in the restrictive practices of corporations. The former embodies the modern meaning of freedom because unlike the latter it enables the dissemination of universal opulence which the use of civic liberty constricts.

Oligarchic Power-Sharing

This chapter focuses on institutions that governed relations among the elite of ancient Greece. It first considers the need for egalitarian relations among Classical Greek oligarchs before discussing the political mechanisms that secured equality among the members of the oligarchic community and satisfied their individual sense of self-worth, including the establishment of multiple veto points in the voting process, consensus-building, and the secret ballot. It then examines the strict regulation of expenditure through sumptuary legislation and how oligarchs in judicial situations devised ways of keeping dispute resolution restrained, courteous, and respectful of one another's pride, thus avoiding escalation. It also describes the use of exile as an effective institution of oligarchic punishment and shows that exile could be a useful tool if it was unanimously agreed upon by the members of the oligarchy.