Abstract
Chapter 7 turns to the state, and Spinoza’s ideas in the TP about the role of the state in establishing the conditions for peace, piety and mutual assistance. Does Spinoza champion a proto-liberal sovereignty of reduced scale, founded in deliberation, toleration and free speech, or should the state actively intervene in the lives of its subjects? If he seems to emphasise both, why, and are the two compatible? What late and new role does the multitude play in the establishment and maintenance of social cohesion? The TP itself has been under-appreciated in providing a deeper exposition of the pre-eminence of the affects to political life. Here the multitude appear on stage, and their common feelings and desires take a primary role in the freedom and security of the state. The chapter identifies Spinoza’s aim in this late, unfinished work as one to describe a reasonable republic, that is, an optimum state whose foundation and laws are strictly, scientifically reasonable. I then critically assess Spinoza’s attempt to load the burden of becoming freer onto the state itself, resulting in some potentially unresolvable paradoxes for individual freedom
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