A pandemic. A changing climate. A hopelessly divided country. Christianity threatened by Islam. Universities completely out of touch with normal people. Late medieval Italy was a basket case. All the while, a small group of men was dreaming of the Roman Empire - maybe emulating Rome was the way to save Italy? In his book Virtue Politics, James Hankins elucidates the neglected political thought of the humanists of the Italian Renaissance, which he names "virtue politics." Jonathan and Ryan outline Hankins's arguments.

James Hankins's Virtue Politics: https://amzn.to/3UiQpp3

N.T. Wright's The New Testament and the People of God: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780800626815

Augustine's City of God: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780140448948

Thomas Aquinas' De Regno: https://isidore.co/aquinas/DeRegno.htm

Dante's De Monarchia: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781502885555

Desiderius Erasmus' The Praise of Folly: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9780691165646

New Humanists episode on T.S. Eliot's Praise for Privilege: https://newhumanists.buzzsprout.com/1791279/9884564-t-s-eliot-s-praise-for-privilege-episode-xvi

New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/

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Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com