The Danish Democracy Canon

7	Baruch Spinoza

Identification

The first step towards a modern theory about democracy is to be found in the writings of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677). His parents were Jews who had fled from the Portuguese Inquisition, and he lived in Amsterdam, the then most liberal city in Europe. In addition to his great work, Ethics, Spinoza wrote several books about political subjects in which he argued that fundamental freedoms granted to the enlightened middle classes would not weaken but, on the contrary, strengthen the state.

Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677).

Spinoza’s path to democracy passed through mechanical physics, which at his time was developed by Galileo (1564-1642) and later by Newton (1642-1727). They described the solar system as a physical system of forces in equilibrium, and Spinoza wanted to test that model in the social sphere. He wanted to describe society objectively: not as it ought to be, but as it was. He claimed that “right is determined by power” – an apparently brutal thesis, which did, however, only say that the decisive thing in a society is not what people find true, but what has social power to work. A political leadership’s most important task is to ensure that the various forces in society do not counteract and eliminate each other, but work harmoniously together. Even if Spinoza accepts that all parties have irrational passions, he endeavours to find an equilibrium principle that can place the passions in a rational and peaceful relationship with each other.

As no force is truer than other forces, Spinoza found a good argument for tolerance through physics. There is a need for all forces, and minorities are often particularly powerful because they have to fight in order to gain recognition. To fight minorities is a waste on three counts: waste of force to fight them, waste of their force, and finally the production of martyrs, i.e. negative force. Therefore it is destructive to adopt one truth only and stigmatise all other truths as heresy. Not the truth, but the majority must decide what is right and wrong. The majority is the most important force in society, but it should not waste any strength on fighting minorities. As long as minorities contribute to the wealth of society and comply with the law, minorities are positive forces. A legal order must not mix up politics and religion.

Through a dispassionate analysis of society as a system of forces, Spinoza arrived at two important principles for modern democracy: tolerance and freedom of expression. There is not just one truth, but many, and everybody must have the right to express themselves within the limits of the law.

The concept of law and order needs to be reinterpreted on an ongoing basis concurrently with changes in the balance of power in society – the relationship between the majority and the minority. Free elections are necessary to clarify if changes have taken place. Laws are not God’s eternal dictates, but man-made rules for the development of a society in which the forces do not destroy each other.

Spinoza also arrived at another conclusion. Irrespective of whether a society is a monarchy or a democracy, it is always an aristocracy – an elitist system. For a king cannot rule alone, and a people cannot rule en bloc. There is a need for a Government to give the people a sense of unity, and a Government will inevitably require a political elite; in other words, an aristocracy.

Reason

Democracy originated in ancient Greece as a system of government that contrasted with two other systems of government, monarchy and aristocracy. The idea was not fully implemented as freedom for male citizens was not matched by freedom for women and slaves. Nevertheless, it was an idea for the future, albeit a distant future. Under the Roman emperors, democracy was forgotten once more. It was not until the 17th century, more than 2000 years after the birth of democracy, that the idea emerged again – now as a political demand that slowly developed and grew stronger. Even if he was not a democrat in the modern sense of the word, and even if his views did not have any immediate political impact, Spinoza’s ideas are important as they mark the beginning of the democratic process that was to convulse Europe and the entire world over the following centuries.

“For men’s natural abilities are too dull to see through everything at once; but by consulting, listening and debating, they grow more acute, and while they are trying all means, they at last discover those which they want, which all approve, but no one would have thought of in the first instance.”

BARUCH SPINOZA: POLITICAL TREATISE, 1677.

“In a free state every man may think what he likes, and say what he thinks. (…) For, although men’s free judgments are very diverse, each one thinking that he alone knows everything, and although complete unanimity of feeling and speech is out of the question, it is impossible to preserve peace, unless individuals abdicate their right of acting entirely on their own judgment. Therefore, the individual justly cedes the right of free action, though not of free reason and judgment.”

BARUCH SPINOZA: THEOLOGICAL-POLITICAL TREATISE, 1670.

groslash;n streg This page is part of the electronic publication "The Danish Democracy Canon"
© The Ministry of Education 2008

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