- Johannes Althusius
Johannes Althusius (
1563 -August 12 ,1638 )"Encyclopædia Britannica", " [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005931/Johannes-Althusius Britannica-JohannesA Johannes Althusius] "] was aCalvinist philosopher and theologian. He is most famous for his1603 work, "Politica Methodice Digesta, Atque Exemplis Sacris et Profanis Illustrata" (Latin for "Politics Methodically Digested, Illustrated withSacred and Profane Examples"); revised editions were published in1610 and1614 . The ideas expressed therein have led many to consider him the first truefederalist ,as the intellectual father of modernfederalism and also an advocate ofpopular sovereignty . He was one of the first who revived republican discourse on origins of politicalcommunity ascivil society .Biography
Althusius was born in
1563 , to a family of modest means inDiedenshausen , Wittgenstein-Berleberg (Siegen-Wittgenstein ), a Calvinist town in what is now the state ofNorth Rhine Westphalia but was then the seat of an independent "Grafschaft" or County. Under the patronage of a local count, he began his studies in1581 , concentrating in law, theology, philosophy, and logic, first inCologne , then inParis andBasel , and eventually inGeneva . The breadth of this education introduced Althusius to a myriad of thinkers in various fields, includingAristotle ,Calvin ,Bodin ,Machiavelli ,Grotius , andPeter Ramus ; he also became familiar with many lesser known scholars and theorists, and "Politica" is heavily indebted to them, citing close to 200 books in all, and doubtlessly influenced by many more.In
1594 , after completing his studies, Althusius joined the law faculty at the Protestant Academy ofHerborn , and was appointed president of the College of Herborn three years later, also beginning his political career by serving as a member of the Nassau (Germany ) county council. For the next several years, he became involved in various colleges throughout the area, variously serving as their president and lecturing on law, theology, and philosophy, and in 1603, he was elected to be a municipal trustee of the city ofEmden , inEast Frisia , where he ultimately made his fame.By the time Althusius began his formal studies in
1581 , theDutch Revolt againstSpain had already come to a head, and it was not to be settled until Dutch independence was recognized in1609 . Because the nature of the conflict was largely religious – Calvinist states rebelling against their Catholic overlords – it was of especial interest to Calvinist political thinkers such as Althusius, and it was perhaps this that initially prompted him to write "Politica", the first edition of which he completed in 1603. It is not only considered to this day the most fully developed scheme of Calvinist political theory, but also the only ever systematic theoretical justification of the Dutch Revolt.The first edition of "Politica" was received with wide acclaim in Emden and in the Netherlands beyond; it presented an attractive political theory for the city, and was no doubt instrumental in Althusius’s securing the position of city Syndic in
1604 , which placed him at the helm of Emden’s governance until his death.Johannes Althusius died on
August 12 ,1638 , in Emden, East Frisia (Germany ). He was married in 1596 to Margarethe Neurath (born1574 ), with whom he had at least four children.Emden
In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries,
Emden in East Frisia (nowGermany ) was at the crossroads of political and religious activity in the region. A prosperous seaport situated between the Netherlands and theHoly Roman Empire , with convenient maritime access toEngland , Emden was a prominent city in the politics and policy of all three nations, and was thus able to retain a significant amount of political freedom. It was located within the overlapping territories of theCatholic Habsburg emperor and aLutheran provincial lord, but its population was mainly Calvinist, and the city had a strong Calvinist spirit. Emden also played host to two Protestant synods, first in1571 and again in 1610, and was widely regarded as the ‘Geneva of the North’ or the ‘alma mater’ of theDutch Reformed Church . These attributes made the city the ideal place for Althusius to propose his particular brand of political philosophy; Emden’s theological and political prominence coupled with its yen for religious and civic independence made the Althusian political theory both topical and popular.Notes
References
*Johannes Althusius, "Politica", Frederick Smith Carney (Editor), Liberty Fund, 1997
*Follesdal, Andres. “Survey Article: Subsidiarity.” Journal of Political Philosophy 6 (June 1998): 190-219.
*Friedrich, Carl J. Constitutional Reason of State. Providence: Brown University Press, 1957.
*Homrighausen, Ernst and Klaus Homrighausen, "Johannes Althusius" in 800 Jahre Diedenshausen 1194-1994: Geschichte des Dorfes und seiner Familien. Pp. 673-675. Diedenshausen, 1997.
*Hueglin, Dr. Thomas. “Covenant and Federalism in the Politics of Althusius.” In The Covenant Connection: From Federal Theology to Modern Federalism, ed. Daniel J. Elazar and John Kincaid, 31-54. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2000.
*Hueglin, Dr. Thomas. Early Modern Concepts for a Late Modern World: Althusius on Community and Federalism. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1999.
*________. “Federalism at the Crossroads: Old Meanings, New Significance.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 36 (June 2003): 275-293.
*________. "Have We Studied the Wrong Authors? On Johannes Althusius as a Political Theorist." Studies in Political Thought 1 (Winter 1992): 75-93.
*Lakoff, Sanford. “Althusius, Johannes.” In Political Philosophy: Theories, Thinkers, and Concepts. Edited bySeymour Martin Lipset , 221-223. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2001.
*von Gierke, Otto. The Development of Political Theory. Translated by Bernard Freyd. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1939.
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