Lordship and ownership

Before the arrival in the west of Aristotle's Politics, the origin of organised society was usually discussed in terms of the institution of lordship and ownership (dominium). Dominium was seen to arise from an act of force, an act of God, human agreement or an amalgam of these, just as in fact the assumption of power often proved to be a combination of events such as usurpation, the test of utility and merit, ‘divine right’, hereditary claims and election or confirmation by the community or its clerical part.

The view that lordship arose from the forceful assumption of power and the subjection of other men had been handed down by Patristic writers. It was illustrated by the story of the Fall and of the appearance with Cain and Nimrod of sinful ambition and dominion, and it reflected too the Stoic assumption (cf. Seneca, Epistola, XIV.2 (90)) that men had enjoyed equality, freedom, and self-sufficiency in an original state of innocence which had been lost through the appearance of human wickedness. The history of the ancient Roman empire attracted much interest since it had obviously gained authority from conquest. Government, then, was the consequence of sin and it arose from the lust for power and domination. But in so far as coercive authority restrained further abuse of free will, it was a necessary and legitimate remedy of sin. After the loss of innocence many men were no longer fit to enjoy freedom and equality or to practice common ownership.