The Justification of the Modern State in Edith Stein’s An Investigation Concerning the State: A Political Theological View

Abstract

The article considers the justification of the modern State in Edith Stein’s work An Investigation Concerning the State. It first addresses the structure of the state by analyzing the equivocation of statehood and sovereignty, the relationship between state and law, the state’s self-restraint, and radical ambivalence. In Part Two, the article examines Stein’s justification of the state reality, and the link between state and human rights. Finally, post-Conciliar political theology is discussed in relation to Stein’s political philosophy, mindful of Stein’s questions concerning the ethical foundations of the state. Her ideas are brought into dialogue with those of Johann Baptist Metz, Joseph Ratzinger, and Jürgen Habermas, especially on the theme of the pre-political foundations of the democratic state.