Democracy and the Divine: The Phenomenon of Political Romanticism

(Hardback)

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Advancing the thesis that a contract between the political members of a community must lead to the highest form of social inclusion, Thomas Hobbess 1651 Leviathan has provided the groundwork for democracies around the world. Yet, Hobbes also states that this contract can only be upheld by a strong sovereign whose authority is derived from God. How can a democracy be defined as truly inclusive when it essentially grows out of a theocracy that thinks about human beings in terms of reduction In this study, Alexandra Aidler argues that despite modern democracys problematic heritage, one should not abandon its claims to religion. Articulating a democracy that is based on the religious principle of giving oneself to another, Aidler develops a political theology of democracy that is built upon two traditions in political thought that have rarely been examined thus far in combination for their contributions to this field: the German Romanticism of the first half of the nineteenth century, as exemplified by Franz von Baader and Friedrich Schlegel, and the theological turn in French philosophy, as represented by Jacques Derrida and Jacques Rancire.

Reviews

Alexandra Aidler's Democracy and the Divine sets new standards in political theology for comprehensiveness, rigor, and sheer philosophical insight. This is an essential book, one that no student of philosophy, religion or politics can safely overlook. It will be decades before this book is surpassed.--Kevin Hart, Edwin B. Kyle Professor of Christian Studies, University of Virginia

Author Bio

Alexandra Aidler earned her PhD at the University of Konstanz.