 Theocracy, Natural Spiritual Monopoly, and DictatorshipRonald Wintrobe and Fabio Padovano Chapter 4 in The Political Economy of Theocracy, 2009, pp 83-118 from Palgrave Macmillan Abstract: Abstract The chapter looks at the behavior of theocracy. We first look at religion, and the reasons why people adopt religious beliefs. In particular we try to understand why people tend to believe in one God. We look at two motivations, the desire for solidarity with a group with common beliefs, and the individualistic desire for an afterlife. Then we turn to dictatorship. Section 4.2 outlines Wintrobe’s (1990, 1998) model of dictatorship. Section 4.3 extends this model to explain the behavior of theocracy, a subject not considered previously. Extending a model developed to understand twentieth century dictatorships to understand the behavior of Calvin or the Papacy might strike the reader as outlandish, and we understand that skepticism. Nevertheless, we believe that the exercise yields some light. On the positive side, looking at a regime such as the Papal States that lasted more than 1,300 years provides a sample unmatched in modern times on which to discuss the implications of a theory of theocracy. Keywords: Social Cohesion; Papal State; Protestant Ethic; Temporal Power; Outward Shift (search for similar items in EconPapers) There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-62006-3_5 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan |
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