Human Restlessness and Politics

• In Event: Pascal's Politics

Abstract

This paper is part of a broader project that questions common narratives about the incompatibility of religion and political moderation. In the project as a whole, I explore how Alexis de Tocqueville’s well-known moderation is rooted in a Pascalian and Augustinian understanding of the human condition—a theological understanding that highlights the rich grounding for political moderation in the Christian tradition. In this chapter, I consider Tocqueville’s complex understanding of human restlessness and its connection to moderation. While both Tocqueville and Pascal focus on restlessness in modern societies, they acknowledge that modern (democratic) restlessness is indicative of a deeper, universal “disquietude”—of which Augustine is the most famous theorist. Indeed, the ultimate cause of our restlessness, as Pascal puts it, lies in the fact that “humanity infinitely transcends humanity.” As a result, human life is characterized by an unavoidable, agonizing tension, amounting to “wretchedness.” Following Augustine, Pascal and Tocqueville know that this condition can only be assuaged through transcendent faith and hope—and, even then, only imperfectly in this life. They observe, however, that the modern age is characterized either by the attempt to actively overcome human wretchedness (apart from religion) or by the inclination to stop thinking about it altogether through diversions. Either way, these efforts inevitably lead to sociopolitical unrest in various forms and suggest that transcendent religion may be an essential support for a moderate, peaceful politics.

Author

• Tyler Castle, University of Notre Dame