Abstract

In studying the relation between the Republic and the forms of community that it displays, the author follows the transformation of community in its ancient and modern steps, from the community of goods to that of laws in Cicero, and from this to the community of ends in Augustine; and again, the community of laws and political partecipation in Marsilius and in classical republicanism. In all strands of utopian thought the attention is focused now on economic now on political community: this leads to the conclusion that community is the single concept at the heart of the Republic.