Chapter 2 - The Commonwealth (res publica)

Summary

A free political community (res publica) was supposed to be built on a coherent understanding of the nature of community and its goals, the sources of justice and law as well as on the paradigm of liberty. This second chapter provides conceptual analysis of the major republican texts that were published in Poland–Lithuania in the sixteenth century, looking particularly at the very concept of a res publica and its foundations: justice, the rule of law and the paradigm of liberty. In these works, the normative foundations of the res publica and its independence were seen as the most fundamental safeguards of individual freedom. At the same time, corruption was regarded as inimical to liberty, as the most pernicious obstacle to preserving the freedom and independence of the commonwealth. In the political discourse that developed, a number of authors shared the same vision of the best political order, which was deeply influenced by classical and contemporary republican ideas. But they disagreed as to the role of the lower strata of society and their status.