Augustine and Politics (2)

 "Augustine’s two ways of speaking of the city of God and the earthly city make

sense in light of the distinction among his readers. Carnal readers dominated

by the lust for domination will more likely have to be told that the city of God

is the Church because that holds out the best hope for taming their prideful

ambitions. They will hear that happiness consists not in politics but only

through submission to Christ and community in the Church. More virtuous

readers will learn that the two cities actually refer to the dominant loves and

that the two cities intermingle in the Church and the political city. The latter

group constitutes a greater hope that the political city might be more justly

governed." - John von Heyking, Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World

Augustine and Politics (1)

 John von Heyking, in his introduction to Augustine and the Politics of Longing, begins with an interesting thesis. "Instead of arguing that politics is based on sin, [Augustine] actually considered political life a substantive good that fulfills human beings’ longings for a kind of wholeness...Instead of basing his politics on a natural law ethic or on one whereby authority is conferred by direct revelation, Augustine actually held to an understanding of political ethics that emphasizes practical wisdom and judgment in a mode that resembles that of Aristotle and Cicero rather than of Machiavelli."

This introduces a unique perspective on Augustine, as many have used his view of original sin as the lens through which he viewed politics. To a point that is true, but I've questioned to what degree. We must be leery of removing Augustine from his particular time in history - the transitory period from the ancient to medieval eras - and projecting our post-Reformation perspective onto his vision. 

I don't know how well Heyking will prove his thesis, but on the surface it makes more sense to me than most modern interpretations I've read because it keeps him as a man of his time, receiving the best wisdom of the ancients rather than turning him into a pre-Renaissance political philosopher.