Pilate therefore said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.”
- John 19:10,11
The most natural form of the village appears to be that of a colony of offshoot from a family; and some have thus called the members of the village by the name of ‘sucklings of the same milk’, or, again, sons and the sons of sons’….This, it may be noted, is the reason why each Greek polis was originally ruled-as the peoples of the barbarian world still are, by kings. […] Because it is the completion of associations existing by nature, every polis exists by nature, having itself the same quality as the earlier associations from which it grew.
- Aristotle Politics Book 1 Chapter 2
Recently, in his post Two Theories of Governmental Legitimacy, Tree of Woe posited that there were two theories of where a government could gain authority to govern.
From Heaven, divine authority given from God.
From Earth, authority bestowed from the masses.
He then went on to posit and explain both how authority is gained and lost in each case.
The quotes above are to demonstrate that they are, in fact, the same thing. There is only the Divine Authority through and through if you believe in God, or Monarchal if you’re a pagan.
Christ tells us so in the first, and he tells us that the pagan ruler has this authority over him, to kill him, the King of Kings.
The latter proof, from reasoning of Aristotle, we can know that the reason things exist is for their ends. The reason any state government exists is for the parts of associations from which it grew - the primary association being the families and villages it began with.
Of which, he had earlier shown, the family is ruled as a monarchal way with the husband as King.
Sorry feminists.
Shut up, we don’t care.
And, thus, all rulers should rule as Fathers do.
Loving their subjects.
Disciplining as needed, yes.
But, primarily, providing the necessities they need to grow in virtue.
Just laws.
Just wages.
Stable prices of food, shelter, housing, medical, and all necessities of life.
Safety.
Because, all people should have their common good represented by their government, no matter what form of government that is. They are due that in Justice, and their ruler’s right to rule, even in a democracy, come from God.
Through the instrumentality of people voting.
You lose that…
Say, by stealing an election?
Not letting people investigate the legality of the election process?
By violating some laws, and engaging in lawfare against political opponents?
Well…
Then we get into some really…
REALLY…
Gray areas of where God’s instrumentality to give someone power to rule,
And his simply punishing a sinful people until they grow in virtue enough to make a change,
Really end.
Therefore let the king recognize that such is the office which he undertakes, namely, that he is to be in the kingdom what the soul is in the body, and what God is in the world.’ If he reflect seriously upon this, a zeal for justice will be enkindled in him when he contemplates that he has been appointed to this position in place of God, to exercise judgment in his kingdom; further, he will acquire the gentleness of clemency and mildness when he considers as his own members those individuals who are subject to his rule.
- St Thomas Aquinas De Regno
One comment - after publishing I realized the logic of the Aristotle quote doesn't quiet get to where I thought it did. It falls just short. He does in other areas / with his other works and I conflated those in my head; I don't believe any of the arguments are short enough to give themselves to quoting in a post though. The closest is the one Tree of Woe himself used, to my memory. If I recall a better one, or find a better one, I'll add it or do a new post.