Introduction
Thomas Aquinas was a theologian and philosopher. He is known as a religious philosopher who introduced Thomism and was an influential leader in the 13th and 14thcentury. Aquinas’ view of the state introduced a theory of state origin that differed from the church father’s theory. Aquinas believed that the state was introduced to punish people due to sin and that the limitation put by the state was essential in maintaining the moral development of people. It was not a burden (Chase, n.d.). Aquinas claimed that the state was a creation of God, and it was a result of God’s urge to establish man. Aquinas believed that the state had the role of educating people on morality and virtue and hoped that the state could maintain peace and order. Aquinas wanted the state rulers to establish regulations that encouraged virtue. Aquinas believed that Monarchy was the best form of state governance.
Aquinas’ view of the state
Aquinas races the state because it brings the common good of maintaining social order. The state sets clear rules, duties, and rights to be followed, allowing people to grow and flourish without violence and instability. Aquinas states that the general welfare of the people, therefore, depends on the power of the state. However, Aquinas’s argument applies more to people in a specific social order than those without it. The state safeguards the life conditions of people in the asocial order and threatens the conditions of those outside the social order (Finnis, 2017). However, the state sometimes commits violence and causes instability to its citizens. The state can also prohibit means that lead to the flourishment of an individual. It is argued that the rules and rights set by the state are not concise because they operate on sovereignty. The argument that only the state provides social goods can be viewed as racist because social life can also result from custom, attraction and life, which happens for most indigenous groups. Statist social groups have low social connectedness compared to non-colonized or indigenous groups. The syndicate on violence is also erratic because it can cause domination by the group in power over the outgroup in the name of the common good.
Aquinas supported using punishment and viewed it as restoring the cosmic order (Breiner, 2018). However, Aquinas’s arguments also indicate that he hoped punishment would deter but instil moral values. Aquinas argues that punishment helps in preventing evil and maintain order. Aquinas describes punishment as medicinal for the person in the wrong and for the community. Punishment helps rehabilitate wrongdoers and trains them to live justly in the community. Punishment protects the community from injustice by discouraging crime when the wrongdoer feels guilty or when the threat of punishment prevents crime (Breiner, 2018). Punishment balances crime, but Aquinas views it as vindictive. When one commits a crime and harms another person, they deprive them of some good and owe them a debt settled by paying back. Aquinas argues that unjust acts cause inequality in society and disturbs order whereby the society is controlled by the common good of the society and its participants. Punishment aims to re-establish equality before the law, and the authority should administer it. For punishment to be just, it should have some element of retribution. According to Aquinas, the purpose of punishment is to act as a medicine that restrains sin and not as imposed by God.
Aquinas argues that the state is complicated and multi-layered. He also states that law is the instruction directed for particular reasons but insists it should be coercive. Aquinas believed that natural law is instilled in the minds of human beings naturally, and it is unchangeable and universal (Elders, 2019). Aquinas views political life as people expressing human needs, not as an institution of serving people’s needs. Aquinas thinks the law is directed towards the common good, meaning the individual needs friendship. The common good is therefore met through social life, although he sometimes describes the common good as the community’s well-being. Aquinas’ idea of the common good entails practices like maintaining peace, protecting life and preserving the state. Aquinas claimed that rulers who violated the natural law were tyrants and were not just because they were not directed by the good of the people but for their good.
Aquinas views a justified state as one that is unlimited. Members of the state also constitute the church, limiting each other. This justifies that the church and the state balance each other. Moral values are essential in maintaining the laws of a state. For a state to be standard, it should operate morally. State officials should also respect and obey the rule of law. State power should be practised for the common good of people and not for individual gains or enforcement of other goods (Chase, n.d.). The balance should be maintained by distributing the results of the common good equally. Sometimes the law sets petty laws for minor harms and overlooks significant harms like murder or rape cases. The state can only regulate external actions that cause instability and should not be used to instil other forms of morality.
The state cannot substitute God, and Aquinas opposes the Christian perspective that secular power can be used to restrict the sinful nature of human beings. Aquinas views power as a way of expressing particular virtues. According to Chase (n.d.), church members are subject to church laws and should not trespass the state’s power. Aquinas has a restriction of state powers that a state ruler should not overstep. People have the right to a state power that is unjust and tyrannical. Aquinas believes a covenant or agreement exists between the ruler and the people he governs, and when the ruler breaks it, it is called tyranny. He also states that people have the right to break laws that support immoral acts, but they should avoid such resistance. However, avoiding resistance encourages wrongdoing and injustice, and limiting Aquinas’ support of the resistance theory indicates that he values order over justice.
Aquinas argues what forms of the state he thinks are the best based on natural law and moral values. Theoretically, Monarchy is viewed as the best form of state government because it is hierarchical and implicates divine rule (Chase, n.d.). Monarchy also supports unity and quick decision-making. Aquinas states that monarchies have power over every individual but serve justice equally. He argues that Monarchy is the best because it is natural for everyone to be governed by one individual. Aquinas also admitted that being governed by one person could be worse if not appropriately exercised.
In conclusion, Aquinas views the state as an institution that maintains law and order and supports the good of people. He believed punishments are good in preventing evil and act as medicine to the wrongdoer. Aquinas argues that Monarchy is the best state governance, although he admits that it could be problematic if not practised correctly.
References
Breiner, N. (2018). Punishment and Satisfaction in Aquinas’s Account of the Atonement: A Reply to Stump. Faith and Philosophy, 35(2), 237–256.
Chase B. W. (n.d.). Aquinas: Political philosophy. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy | An encyclopedia of philosophy articles written by professional philosophers. https://iep.utm.edu/thomas-aquinas-political-philosophy/
Elders, L. J. (2019). The ethics of St. Thomas Aquinas: Happiness, natural law, and the virtues. The Catholic University of America Press.
Finnis, J. (2017). Public good: the specifically political common good in Aquinas. In Thomas Aquinas (pp. 63–98). Routledge.
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