ABSTRACT
The second theme of political subjectivity to be addressed, political authority, comprises what is arguably the definitive component of the political. In a certain sense, political philosophy just is the science of authority. Now, despite the great division among political philosophers throughout the ages regarding the question of what constitutes legitimate authority, there has been wide agreement about the need to distinguish right from force in some way, and hence to distinguish political order from tyrannical oppression. The indissoluble link between goodness and political authority can be seen dramatically in Aristotle’s account of kingship, in which he carries out a surprising reflection on the “crisis” that would be undergone by a political community with the sudden appearance of someone possessing wisdom and virtue to a surpassing degree. The philosophy of Eric Voegelin captures the manner in which the presence of truth may cause an existential tension within a political order.
