No Heaven On Earth
The Spring edition of The Claremont Review of Books includes a review by Robert R. Reilly of Roman Catholic Political Philosophy by James V. Schall. One paragraph from the review, in particular, is striking:
Politics cannot, and should not attempt to, transform man spiritually or turn the world into a paradise. Instead, politics out to arrange the material circumstances of man's life to mitigate the effects of evil, so that he can pursue virtue and, in doing so, achieve the ultimate happiness that lies beyond politics. Political philosophy has to defend these limits so the city does not succumb to the temptation of transforming itself into the engine of men's salvation. Otherwise, the city will approximate some version of the proto-totalitarian state that Plato predicted in "The Republic."
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