The Polycentric Republic: A Theory of Civil Order for Free and Diverse Societies

The Polycentric Republic presents a compelling and innovative critique of modern social contract theory. It reveals how the social contract theory systematically neglects the interests and prerogatives of non-State associations and legitimates an imposing sovereign State that jeopardizes the freedom and integrity of communities and associations under its rule.

Drawing on neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics, institutional theory, and political history, the author invites us to reimagine civil order in a way that is more friendly to the diverse interests and prerogatives of non-State communities and organizations, from churches, schools, and universities to farming co-ops, businesses, villages, and towns. Building on MacIntyre’s diagnosis of the moral and institutional failures of the modern State, this book offers a historically informed and institutionally rigorous critique of the pathologies of sovereign power. In addition, it proposes a novel reinterpretation of federalism as a complex, emergent order created through bottom-up, inter-group cooperation constrained by the rule of law but consistent with a wide variety of independent communities and ways of life.

The Polycentric Republic is essential reading for anyone interested in rethinking State-centric approaches to governance and civil order and exploring the merits of non-Statist, pluralist approaches, be they citizens, policymakers, or students of political science, political philosophy, law, or political economy.