The Church is a political community whether you’d like it to be one or not. It is, of course, more than a political community, but it is political nonetheless. Must all political communities operate by coercion? Doesn’t the u.s. claim to be a voluntary association? I don’t follow you.In an attempt to more carefully define what I meant, I ended up saying this:
I think there is a misunderstanding between us concerning the proper use of the word political. By political, I mean a community that is bound together by some coercive authority. I think you are using political in a broad sense to mean any human relationship or group of people. He then asked if all political communities operate by coercion. I think the answer is yes: in all political communities there is necessarily a coercive force. A political community requires laws and there must be punishment for transgressing those laws. The enforcement of that punishment requires a coercive force.It sounds odd to me to have to explain things in this way - I thought coercion was one of the only things that distinguishes a political community from any other type of community. So, in an effort to present this question to a broader audience, I ask you: am I crazy?
What makes a political community?
Update: My original argument was wrong, at least as it was formulated. If I were to rephrase now, I would say that the Church is a type of political community, but it is distinct from the state, the polis, by nature: the Church does not have or need a coercive force. I still think the state, the good community, does.
The goal of my argument was to argue against anarchy; to prove that the coercive force of the state is unfortunately necessary and at least a qualified good. Again, I must emphasize that this is not something that I like. Rather, I think it is a consequence of original sin and a part of human reality in the present time.
Thanks to dminor of the blog The Minor Premise for a good conversation and cleaning up my muddled thinking about these terms.
8 comments:
What is a political community? Any time you have 2 or more people together? It seems that when any group has to make a decision we have a political community.
I like that, I think.
What happens when one of the parties disrespects the decision that was made?
Zach,
Way back in my college PoliSci classes, we learned that there are two main forces in politics -- coercion and cooption.
By your definition, a prison is a political community, while a hobby club is not. And yet, if the club is of any size it must be governed by rules and administered by officers.
Would you consider an organization governed by consensus not to be political?
dminor,
Thanks for the comment. You're right, my definition is flawed. In light of your comment, I think maybe a better one would be:
a political community is a community bound together by some coercive authority for the sake of the common good.
as to your question, "Would you consider an organization governed by consensus not to be political?"
I think it is political in some sense, but i don't think an organization can be called a polis, i.e. a community with rulers, guardians and producers/consumers.
Is that a bit better or am I still off?
Civics,
When talking about societies (as opposed to other groups), you are correct in assuming that some coercion is needed to keep order. However, I have always considered politics and political society as akin to civics and a civic society, which require a participatory culture from the governed.
In societies without a good civic culture, the population can often be described as apolitical. The apolitical attitude is generally the result of coercion from the government.
Although I believe that producers/consumers are necessary for the functioning of a society, they are more a part of the economic, rather than the political, part of that society.
While they overlap, politics and economics are separate disciplines.
Marx may have differed with me on this . . . . .
hmm... yes... Aristotle's defintions of politics was what.. "how we ought to order our lives together?" and the political community would be the "we" in that definition..
Would you say the Church is a political community then?
As far as the producers/consumers thing - the three classes of people I mentioned are those that are said to arise naturally in any political community by Aristotle, I think.
Yes, the Church, being a large organization with a means of governance, is a political community. It uses cooption rather than coercion to enforce order. In fact, it is the ultimate cooptive community. Members of the Church are voluntary members, and can separate themselves at will. Membership in the church is an exercise of free will.
The coercion the Church can use is as a result of its members believing its doctrines (i.e. withholding of sacraments). Contrast this with a state, which can deprive an individual of livelihood, freedom, and even life.
Hmm.
Do you think the Church should be a model for the state?
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