St. Augustine and Administration: The Politics of Social Institutions in The City of God

Burns, Tony

Abstract

This article considers what St. Augustine has to say about administration (administrare) in The City of God, as well as in The Rule of St. Augustine and in Of the Work of Monks. Rather than focusing on Augustine’s political thought as traditionally understood—regarding the state and its coercive laws—it focuses on what he has to say about decision making in non-political social institutions such as monasteries or schools. I argue that at least some of Augustine’s ideas are relevant to a critique of the abuse of power in contemporary social institutions by those who are responsible for their administration.

Citation

Burns, T. (2021). St. Augustine and Administration: The Politics of Social Institutions in The City of God. European Legacy, 26(1), 22-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/10848770.2020.1793959

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 27, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jul 17, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 31, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 18, 2022
• Journal: European Legacy
• Print ISSN: 1084-8770
• Electronic ISSN: 1470-1316
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 22-38
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10848770.2020.1793959
• Keywords: St Augustine; City of God; Administration; Social Institutions; History of Political Thought
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2978645
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10848770.2020.1793959
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in European Legacy on 17.06.20], available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/10848770.2020.1793959