Abstract

Contemporary legal theorist Joseph Raz claimed that, in a society of angels, there would still be need for law. This article will trace the history of this thought experiment back to the works of the medieval theologian St. Thomas Aquinas on the divine government and the society under the state of innocence. Despite writing centuries apart and belonging to the rival legal positivist and natural law jurisprudential traditions, both thinkers, quite surprisingly, agree that imagining a society of virtuous beings matters not only for recognizing the necessary coerciveness of law, but also its coordinative function. While disagreeing on the nature of law, Raz and Aquinas equally recognize the practical indispensability of legal rules even in a government of morally perfect beings and would also do so when it comes to its opposite—a society of demons. That this shared insight is not undermined by where Raz and Aquinas diverge is further proven when it comes to applying their theories when discussing the need for laws’ coordinating ability in atypical settings, such as post-legal societies, wicked regimes, extraordinary measures, and international law.

Keywords

Legal Authority, Coordination, Natural Law, Common Good, Angels, Demons, State of Innocence