Medieval Political Thought Alok Kumar Gupta MAPSIR Turn

Medieval Political Thought Alok Kumar Gupta MAPSIR

Turn to the Medieval Political Thought Decline of Greece and rise of Roman Empire (Rome annexed Greece) Decline of City State Death of Alexander and transformation of political order Period of empire building Welding of civilizations No systematic political speculation under such unsettled conditions Polybius and Cicero propounded their thoughts

Medieval Political Thought Instead of City now Individual becomes the subject of speculation; Individual happiness becomes the main theme of post-Aristotelian thinkers; An attempt was being made to separate individual from the city; Individual was now being considered as self-sufficient entity; Private life was being considered as different from public life; Ethics was being separated from politics.

Second set of changes Universalism or Cosmopolitanism; City state was no longer considered as final political development; Establishment of the Macedonian and later Roman empire open a new vista of political imagination; Thinkers started thinking in terms of new empire rather than small city states; Ideal of citizenship of the state gave way to the ideal of citizenship of the World; Thus, Individualism and Universalism were the keystones of Epicureanism and Stoicism.

Factors responsible for Radical Changes Conquering of entire Greece by King Philip Establishment of the empire of the east and west by Alexander Loss of freedom for the Cities Previously private and public were one State religion was the individual religion Epicureans and Stoics placed before men the ideals of personal characters and private happiness in place of devotion to the city state.

Prof. W. S Ferguson Pointed out that the Greek city-state was facing a political dilemma in the sense that ‘it could not attain self-sufficiency without adopting a policy of isolation and it could not isolate itself without suffering stagnation in that very culture and civilization which Aristotle regarded as its crown of glory. ’ Hence no city-state could isolate itself and had to enter into alliances with other cities, which meant the violation of independence of the citizens in some form or the other.

The removal of barrier between the Greeks and the barbarians by Alexander was another noteworthy factor. The inherent superiority of the Greeks over the barbarians was one of the basic ideas of Aristotle. The establishment of empire over both the Greeks and the barbarians removed this superficial sense of superiority They had been reduced to equality along with the barbarians, as both were equally subjects of the same emperor. The idea of equality of man emerged accompanied by the concept of universal law applicable to all men.

Rise of Papacy Its doctrines of the Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man, and the salvation of soul through the grace of priest had a great appeal to the oppressed and under privileged sections the society. Gradually, the Christian teaching started having a sway upon the rich and Aristocratic classes. By the fourth century the creed of the Christians has become the religion of the most influential classes of the Roman Empire. With increase in its membership, it developed a definite organization of its own, parallel to that of Rome. The efficient organization became a rival to the state.

Hence its persecution began. As it was refuting the old Pagan beliefs, its main opponents were the believers in the Greco-Roman civilization. But when in the fourth century a large number of Roman soldiers adopted Christianity in spite of the opposition from the Emperor, then reigning King Constantine was wise enough to declare Christianity as the official creed of the state. Pagan: A person who does not acknowledge your god; A person who follows a polytheistic or pre-Christian religion (not a Christian or Muslim or Jew); Someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures

After such recognition, Christianity found no difficulty in triumphing over the competing Pagan forces. In 380 AD Christianity was proclaimed the official and the only lawful religion of the empire by Emperor of Theodosius. Church became a religio-political authority. It became a department of the state. T he Bishops became the recognized officials of the government. The Bishops and clergymen got vast properties in the shape of lands. The Church started interfering in political matters.

Thus, the rise of Christianity played greater role in Politics than in religious preaching. Similarly in its organization the political elements were more powerful. The Christian Church, though its early organization was local and democratic, soon became centralized and hierarchical. The Church of Rome became the headquarters of Christianity with its complete control over local and provincial branches.

The Bishops of Provinces and cities owed allegiance to the Bishop of Rome who had been appointed as the legal advisor of the Emperor in regard to all ecclesiastical matters. Gradually, the organization of the Church became more or less identical with the political organization in the Empire. Just as the Emperor symbolized the centralized administration of the Roman Empire, the Bishop of Rome became the Central figure in the Church organization.

With the decline in the power of Rome; Church became stronger and stronger. The transfer of the imperial capital from Rome to Constantinople, the subsequent division of the Empire into two parts, the Western and the Eastern, the final disintegration due to attack by Teutonic barbarians were the various factors which made the Church more powerful. The Bishop of Rome became the Pope and started having political power too.

Factors contributed to the rise of Papacy First, the institution of the Bishop of Rome was established by Saint Peter whose pre-eminence among the apostles was universally recognized. Secondly, a claim was made on the part of the Pope that the provincial Churches in the West had been established under the auspices of Rome and therefore owed to the Roman Bishop the allegiance due to metropolitan authority. Thirdly, the Bishop of Rome had been appointed the legal advisor to the Roman Emperor in all ecclesiastical matters.

Fourthly, the powers of the Roman Emperor had declined. This situation was exploited by the Bishop of Rome. Fifthly, the transfer of the capital from Rome to Constantinople put Rome out of sight of the Emperor. The Pope tried to strengthen his position in the meanwhile. Sixthly, final disintegration of the Empire took place due to the Teutonic attack.

After the rise of Papacy a controversy raged as to which is supreme—The Pope or the Emperor, the Church or the State. This controversy continued throughout the Middle Ages. Actually the whole of political thought during this period centered round this controversy, the great Political Thinkers of this age--Augustine, Aquinas, Marsillo were the protagonists of one of the two causes. More over Christianity taught to the world the value of spiritual element in life. In stead of concentrating on this world, one should also think of the world beyond the grave.

Lastly, Christianity gave to the world the Church as a distinct organization to look after the spiritual interests, existing inside the state but having independent existence.