Justice as triumph of theocratic principle
St. Augustine—Conception of justice as Christian ideal: Travelling through various political upheavals but now not witnessed by Cicero or Seneca or such a statesman, Roman Empire in its monarchical form also had closed and gone by the fith century AD. With the decline of the Roman Empire, there came the pagan charge that adoption of Christianity was responsible for the decline of the Roman power. In fact, it was also charged that Christianity was like the owl of Minerva, which sat on the carcass of the Roman Empire. In the early fourth century, Goths (Teutonic people of Swedish and German origin) had started settling in and encroaching upon the Roman Empire. In 410 AD, a section of Goths led by Alaric sacked and devastated the city of Rome. If we look at two aspects, namely Cicero’s forceful argument that a true commonwealth (and he was talking about the pre-Christian Rome) must realize justice and the pagan claim against Christianity as having destroyed political power of Rome, we would be able to give a perspective to the thought of St. Augustine on justice.
St. Augustine took exception to Cicero’s claim and strongly doubted that a pre-Christian empire could realize justice. This is because he held that a true commonwealth must be Christian. A just state for Augustine is one in which belief in the true religion is given primacy. Secondly, Augustine was to defend Christianity against the pagan charge of it being the cause of decline of the Roman political power. In this context, St. Augustine wrote The City of God (De Civitate Dei) to respond both to Cicero and to the pagan apologists. He stated that man’s nature is two-fold—spirit and body or the realm of worldly interests and the realm of other worldly interests. Corresponding to these are earthly city and the City of God. While the earthly city is founded on ‘the earthly, possessive and appetitive impulses of lower human nature’, the City of God is ‘founded on hope of heavenly peace and spiritual salvation’. Only the City of God, a spiritual kingdom, could be permanent. By implication then, fall of Roman Empire could not, and should not, be linked to Christianity, as all earthly kingdoms must pass away. Further, it establishes the supremacy of the idea of the City of God and seeks that ‘the state must be a Christian state serving a community which is one by virtue of a common Christian faith.’13 No state, for Augustine is just unless it is also Christian. Pre-Christian state could not claim, as Cicero wanted, to seek justice.
Unlike Aristotle, who celebrated politics as prime human activity and sought distributive justice or Cicero who sought justice in terms of state as people’s affair and natural law, St. Augustine linked authority with God and justice with Christian belief. Political activity pertaining to the realm of earthly affairs was not to find much favour from Augustine. We may say that St. Augustine’s conception of justice is related to the heavenly state and City of God. This means, it is necessarily covered under theocratic theory of the state. Augustine supremely believes that justice cannot exist on this earth and even if it exists, would be imperfect. He says, ‘without justice, what are kingdoms but great robberies.’14 Thus, justice, which Plato, Aristotle or Cicero talked about were relative and imperfect justice because justice could be realized only in a Christian state. Augustine’s solution is that the state must be the temporal arm of the church serving the authority of God. Justice in such a state would be conformity to order and respect for duties and obligations that the City of God requires.
St. Thomas Aquinas—Conception of Justice as rule of the higher for public good and salvation: A great saint of the thirteenth century belonging to the Mendicant Orders, known as the Aristotle of Europe, was St. Thomas Aquinas who sought close synthesis of faith and reason. He, as Nelson says, ‘integrated Aristotle’s philosophy into the corpus of Christian faith.’ Aquinas’s ideas on law and justice are contained in his Summa Theologica. Another book, On Kingship, contains his political theory and closely follows Aristotle’s Politics. Aquinas’s idea of justice could be better understood if we look at two aspects that are related: (i) relationship between the lower and the higher, and (ii) State as a moral community. St. Thomas Aquinas holds that nature is permeated with hierarchy in which the higher rules over the lower as God being supreme rules over the world and soul, being higher, rules over the body. As such, there should be a rule by those who are higher and a rule for public good. Secondly, as Sabine says, Aquinas perceives society as a ‘system of ends and purposes’ or as Nelson says, ‘state as a moral community’.
If we combine the two aspects, i.e., doctrine of hierarchy and the moral end and purposes, we can say that the state ‘has its end the moral good of its members … hence the should be based on justice, that the best should rule for the public good under the constraint of law.’15 If society or state is a system of ends and purposes or mutual exchange of services for the sake of good or moral life, it requires that all contribute as per callings. Nevertheless, what is primarily required is that those who are higher or the ruling part should direct the lower and the lower serves the higher. Justice, for Aquinas, is seeking common or public good through this arrangement. Further, this rule of the higher is to be exercised in accordance with law.
Aquinas sounds like Aristotle in seeking rule of law and sake of a good life in the State. Since, everyone has to contribute as per calling and the doctrine of hierarchy, everyone has ‘station, duties and rights through which one contributes to the perfection of the whole’. As St. Thomas Aquinas seeks perfection in religious terms, pubic good, perfection of the whole or moral life is to be interpreted in terms of salvation of the soul. In short, for Aquinas, justice becomes rule of those who are best for seeking a moral life that ultimately helps in salvation of the soul.
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