Representation of corporate persons: Marsilius of Padua and contemporary political theory.

Abstract

The thesis which follows is concerned with developing a new approach to political theory as it is practiced in the Anglo-American tradition. This tradition has been characterized by certain assumptions regarding the foundations of political theory, the most important of which has been the primacy accorded to the individual and to the political rights which develop to protect this primacy. Recent political experience in the West presents a strong challenge to the individualist stance. The rise of political interest groups, which serves as the empirical starting point for this thesis, has brought out the shortcomings of our democratic theory into the open. Various critiques, from a feminist, Marxian, ecological or other point of view, have shown how the individualism of our tradition has reached certain limits. These also show the need for a new development in political thought. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part is diagnostic in nature: it seeks to isolate a specific question to be asked, a heuristic notion of representation that can serve as a template for further inquiry. This first part is made up of two chapters. The first chapter looks at representation from the point of view of the representative. The second chapter turns to the interests of the represented. In the second part, which is made up of three chapters, the work of Marsilius of Padua is studied to try to glean a possible solution to the heuristic notion developed earlier. Marsilius' understanding of politics is founded on a corporate notion of the individual, which is why his work is of interest. The chapters develop, in order, Marsilius' historical context, some key notions in his text, and finally some conclusions for our own theoretical enterprise. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)