Man and the State

Rating:
Summary: Sound piece of political philosophy
Review: This is a fine little piece of Maritain's work. Starting with the definitions of the body politic, state, nation, etc. Maritain elucidates the proper notion of authority in a democracy, an authority that can must be in accord with Natural Law. The chapter on human rights is worth the cost of the book itself, as the west is in dire need of a sound notion of human rights and ought to jettison the ilusory notions of such as promulgated and derived from the philosophies of Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau.

It is no surprise that Maritain played a significant role in drafting a charter on human rights with the United Nations. Read this work in conjunction with his other work entitled "Natural Law" and also Yves Simon's "Philosophy of Democratic Government"