Johannes Alhusius Political Theory

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Introduction Johannes Althusius, , is known for his political philosophy from his book Politica Methodice Digesta (1604) Not so many have studied his work, however those who did went as far as to refer to him as the father of modern federalism, or , as in the words of E.S. Woldring: “One of the founding fathers of the liberal constitutional state.. and a pioneer of constitutional political economy..,as well as.. relevant for law and economic research (Woldring, 1998;132)” My Central thesis revolves around if Althusian thought can be applied in politics today. To find anwsers, I First will exract from specific texts written by Henk E.S. Woldring (1998) and Paul Wells (2006), a number of important ideas by Althusius. This will provide a general idea of some revolutionary points made by Him. Then, finally, I will explain through their work how these ideas can or can not be applied in the postmodern world. Although both regarded Althusius as one with a brilliant idea when it comes to his political theory, they do differ in focus on his work. …show more content…

The first is that every individual participant should contribute to the production of goods that are considered either useful or neccesary for the benefit of the self as well as the whole association of which he or she is part. The second characteristic is that all respective associations assist each other through different occupations and various services or labours to improve and preserve harmonious social living. The third characteristic that all associations share in common is that when united, a community of law is formed in which the life of participants is organised through each’s respective just laws. This implies that the legal competence of an association should not be extended imperialistically over other communities as all associations have their own particular governors and inferiors. (Woldring p

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