Politocratic communitarianism, immanentist sociology and sphere sovereignty

• Published in: Koers (Potchefstroom, South Africa) Vol. 83; no. 1; pp. 1 - 14
• Main Author: Raath, Andries
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Koers Society of South Africa 2018; Scriber Editorial Systems
• Subjects: Goosen; Malan; Philosophy; politocratic communitarianism; Religion; sociology
• ISSN: 0023-270X; 2304-8557; 2304-8557
• DOI: 10.19108/KOERS.83.1.2317

Politocratic communitarianism supports the historic revival of ancient Greek notions of social life in opposition to the nominalist trends in modernistic philosophy of society. The need for a penetrating normative philosophy of society from an integral non-dualistic angle to social life is manifest from Danie Goosen’s and Koos Malan’s pursuit of the neo-Aristotelian philosophical revival of the Greek polis: their formalistic approach to sociology, the dialectical tension between “normativity” and “factuality”, and the juxtaposing of the “general” and the “specific” in their approach to social phenomena. In this article the shortcomings of politocratic communitarianism are traced to its immanentist approach to social theory with all the ensuing dialectical tensions emanating from its social philosophy and its views on the role of the state in society.