Abstract:
After the path-breaking research by J.G.A. Pocock and Q. Skinner, the history of republicanism has been intensively studied in recent years. In the case of Dante, C. Davis and P. Armour related the political philosophy of the Italian poet to the republican tradition. This article tries to identify the limits of republicanism in the hierarchical view of politics which Dante traced out. It is argued that Dante should rather be labeled as a platonist than a republican. His idealist method, his concept of a philosopher-king, his blending of ethics and politics, his approval of meritocratic leadership, his concept of liberty betray him as a follower of platonism, even though he himself did not know any of Plato's political dialogues. Contrary to the elitism of Plato and Aristotle, Dante's universalist concept of mankind sets him off as an original thinker.
