Modern State as Mortal God
On rogues and rogue states
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22137244 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Theo de Wit (Stellenbosch University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 201-233 |
| Publication date | 2021-01-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Stellenbosch Theological Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2413-9459 • E-ISSN: 2413-9467 |
| Publisher | Christian Literature Fund (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.17570/stj.2020.v6n2.a9 |
| OpenAlex | W3040999520 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
Prisoners are confined in the name of the state as the holder of the monopoly of coercion and violence. To delegitimize religion as a political factor, the modern European state has often been upgraded to a divine authority, endowed with sovereign, that is: unlimited power. For Hobbes, this state was an answer to the “state of nature”, a state of permanent threatening violence, where everyone has a “right to everything”. His sovereign state even has the right to punish and kill innocent citizens if he thinks it is necessary. However, as a citizen I do not have to obey when the sovereign wants my death. Both Hobbes and Hegel defend the state, inclusive its roguish behaviour. Is “rogue state” perhaps a tautology? Remarkable, also twentieth-century scholars like Schmitt and Kahn defend this state: in a dangerous world, we have to be prepared for the exceptional situation. Kafka points to the societal and psychological roots of our roguish behaviour – the gap between our self-caressing (collective) self-image and our treating of others, especially strangers and people in prison. It is very tempting and pleasant to get judgmental and to encourage the mortal god (the state) to judge people
Economics · Hegelianism · Law and economics · Monopoly · Political science · Politics · Prison · Sociology · Sovereignty · State of exception · State of nature · Hannah Arendt's Political Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Political Theology and Sovereignty
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |