The history of political thought is the history of the attempts over the centuries to answer the question: 'Why should I obey the state?'
Answers have ranged from:
The pragmatic - 'Because if I don't they will cut my head off'
To the theological - 'Because it is God's will'
From the contractual - 'Because the state and I have a deal'
To the metaphysical - 'Because the state is the actuality of the ethical idea'
Cicero was the major influence on 17th and 18th century republicanism in Britain and America, to say nothing of his role in the renaissance. Natural Law stems from Cicero as doe…
