Spinoza and Political Philosophy

In Spinoza's system, individuals are Modes, i. e. modifications of Nature. They are thus naturally in a condition of interdependence, so the function of political life is to optimize the natural symbiosis. In other words, Spinoza conceives political association as an enhancement of the good of any individual involved. In contrast, for Hobbes, political association is a corrective to natural antagonism, via constraint on the self-interest of any individual involved. On the other hand, Locke agrees with Spinoza that political association enhances the individual, but unlike for Spinoza, such enhancement, for Locke, is contingent, rather than necessary, in the metaphysical sense. And, the optimization that political association, according to Spinoza, promotes, is not an approximation to a Rousseauian lost natural harmony, nor is the general good attributable to a Rousseauian particular Will. So, Spinoza's Political Philosophy is akin to, but distinguishable from, its prominent peers of the era. More generally, since political association is a means to the good of each of its members, Political Philosophy is a branch of Ethics, according to Spinoza, not antagonistic to it. Likewise, because God and Nature are identical in Spinozism, 'rendering unto Caesar' is not antithetical to 'rendering unto God', but is, more accurately, itself a divine rendering.