Law and Love in Eden

Abstract

What founds a community – law or love? There are at least two metanarratives that could be told to answer the question of what binds a political community: one is the metanarrative of law and the other is the metanarrative of love. The metanarrative of law tells a Hobbesian story, in which law is necessary for love. On the other hand, the metanarrative of love tells an Edenic story, in which law destroys love. Our political community is founded on both the need for law and the desire for love because we are driven by the Hobbesian nightmare of war inasmuch as we are drawn to the Edenic dream of paradise on earth. Faced with this dilemma, we hedge our bets: while we live under law, we dream of love. Show more