(An outline of a talk given at Montfort Academy, Katonah, New York, on April 2, 2005)
WHAT ARE THE FEATURES THAT MAKE A CITY?
Closeness and permanence.
Complexity.
Common background and future.
Public life.
Complete society.
Aristotle: man is a zoon politikon.
WHAT IS LAW?
How are things set up from the standpoint of what people owe each other and what they can expect from each other? When are those things enforceable? How do you enforce them?
Thomas Aquinas: “Law is an ordinance of reason for the common good, promulgated by him who has care of the community.”