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Political Thought

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1. a. Augustine included all earthly beings to represent the “City of Man”, which is imperfect. The temporal authority disciplines the sinful man through law and education. On the other hand, the seamless “City of God” preserves the divine values of peace, hope and charity. They may occupy different jurisdictions and hold different values, they are still related because they both existed.
Based on Aquinas’ account, the state or temporal authority is the author and executor of human law, who punishes through iniquities and encouragement through virtue. The church or the ecclesiastical authority is the interpreter of divine law through natural law. It would appear that the ecclesiastical authority is necessary in advising the state relating to moral legislation.

b. The main purpose of politics is for the people to keep peace, and Christians are the best to rule the political society, based on St. Augustine. On his book, Civitas Dei, it has been cited that a Good Christian Leader should lead the people into obedience of God, and then the government will be just. He mainly focuses on the belief that God should be the one to be followed. Contrarily, St. Aquinas puts into account that the leader’s rules should benefit to the common good of the people. This should guide the people to have a good life. Also, the government of humans should also be involved because the divine reason, which is needed to live a virtuous life, couldn’t be simply understood.

2. As for Niccolo Machiavelli, morality, such that originates from one’s basic need, is arbitrary or subjective. One should be moralistic than he should be but when there comes a time that one needs to be cruel and evil, then be evil to create the fear among other people, which will eventually drive them to follow you. Machiavelli’s principle, “The end justifies the means” implies that it is acceptable to abuse one’s

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