Abstract
The rise of Christianity and the fall of Rome prompted new thinking about the relationship between state and self. Augustine of Hippo openly doubted political obligation when it conflicted with religious obligation, and he described the earthly state as a curse. His thought is connected both to modern anarchism and to the public choice school of economics. Although Augustine would have established a theocracy, one can easily imagine the establishment of a Christian anarchism instead, in the manner of Leo Tolstoy.
In the middle ages, law develops as a profession significantly independent of the state. The rising profession of law challenges state power and propagates the idea that law possesses an inner logic, to which the state is answerable. The rule of law is born.
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Kuznicki, J. (2017). Christianity and the City of Man: From Retreat to Reform. In: Technology and the End of Authority. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48692-5_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48692-5_4
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48692-5
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