The next era in the history of political philosophy coincided with the Protestant reformation. The reformation introduced the concept of political obligation on the part of individuals (Bellah, et al, 1991, pp. 22 23). The result was a strong affirmation of the obligation of humanity to natural law above political law (Bellah, et al, 1991, pp. 279 280). It, in effect, legitimized political dissent the right to resist political authority which is contrary to the individual's concept of natural law. It is a concept with which political authorities have been contending ever since, including the present time.context, the contemporary MacIntyre (1984, pp. 242 244) finds himself in conflict with Marxist political philosophy. Although Hegel insisted that politics must be viewed as part of a larger society, Marx contended that Hegel did not sufficiently factor in the impact of economics on societal control. In this latter context, Marx appeared to accept the premise of Mill that the values of a society will be derived from an ascending class within that society, and that in capitalist, bourgeois societies, the owners of economic resources will establish the society's values (Bellah, et al, 1991, pp. 99 103). In the long run, Marx thought that it was both possible and necessary for the state, as an entity, to disappear. The Stoics contributed the political philosophy which holds that a universal and eternal moral ordering is common to all humanity, and affects significant issues of collectivity. The Stoics began in Greece, and their political philosophy migrated to Rome. Although Stoicism began in Greece, its concept that all In the history of political philosophy, German idealism articulated by Kant and Hegel followed utilitarianism. Kant held that each individual should treat each other individual as if that other individual were an end, and should never treat that other individual as if that other individual were a means. In Kant's conception, the mast |
