A Commonwealth of Hope

"Augustine of Hippo is one of the most influential thinkers in the history of political thought but whose writings are among the most contested in contemporary political theory. Many critics target Augustine's pessimism, arguing that his fixation on sin and longing for the heavenly city deny the value of this-worldly politics. Rather than challenging this pessimism, many defenders parlay it for their own purposes, invoking Augustine to chasten political optimism or encourage religious citizens to withdraw from the public square. Situating Augustine within his political, rhetorical, and religious contexts and integrating insights from political theory, religious studies, theology, and philosophy, Michael Lamb aims to paint a different picture of Augustine's political thought. In particular, Lamb draws on the full range of Augustine's writings, including neglected treatises, sermons, and letters, to retrieve Augustine's idea of hope as a civic virtue, one which is neither optimistic or pessimistic. By illuminating this understudied virtue and engaging critics on their own terms, Lamb challenges prevailing interpretations of Augustinian pessimism while supplying a novel and capacious vision of Augustine's political thought"--