Review by Choice Review
Hueglin, a political scientist at Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada), argues that Johannes Althusius (1557-1638), the Calvinist jurist and political theorist, "should be recognized as one of the great social philosophers of community, subsidiarity, and federalism." Hueglin devotes part 1 to "the contextual world of Althusius's thought," including the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, the Dutch revolt against Spain, and the search for alternatives to Jean Bodin's contention that sovereignty must be absolute. Successive chapters in part 2 focus on five key principles in Althusius's Politica: "consociation" ("the art of living together"--an alternative to Bodin's absolutism); "societal federalism" (organizing "all higher levels of authority ... on the basis of consent and solidarity from below"); representation; "subsidiarity" (respect for the autonomy of smaller social units in their proper domain); and organized "civil disobedience" as a check on governmental overreaching. The conclusion argues for Althusius's contemporary relevance, particularly with reference to the European Union. Although the author displays an admirable enthusiasm for his subject, his writing is repetitive and often abstract, and his interpretations of philosophers such as Montesquieu sometimes unreliable. Recommended for larger research collections only. D. Schaefer; College of the Holy Cross
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
