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5 - Spinoza's republic

Charlie Huenemann
Charlie Huenemann
Affiliation:
Utah State University
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Summary

Now if human nature were so constituted that men desired most of all what was most to their advantage, no special skill would be needed to secure harmony and trust. But since, admittedly, human nature is far otherwise constituted, the state must necessarily be so established that all men, both rulers and ruled, whether they will or no, will do what is in the interests of their common welfare; that is, either voluntarily or constrained by force or necessity, they will all live as reason prescribes.

(Political 6.3)

STRIVING FOR POWER

Occasionally we get a glimpse into the world of the individual concerned only with power. Every thought and action is calculated and assessed by the measure of whether it can be expected to deliver a greater range of control and influence. Sympathy and empathy have no place, except to the extent that they help the power broker to predict the behaviour of saps and suckers. Such glimpses can be terrifying, as we can feel our moral boundaries lifting and our expectations of fairness peeling away. But the sense of moral vertigo is at the same time thrilling. We may feel, with Nietzsche, that we have stepped beyond both good and evil, and we see what it would be to concern ourselves only with the universe's single genuine currency: making things happen. Anything is possible, and all is permitted.

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Spinoza's Radical Theology
The Metaphysics of the Infinite
 , pp. 109 - 130
Publisher: Acumen Publishing
Print publication year: 2013

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