Governing According to Nature

Before climate change became an issue of unprecedented political importance, the topic of climate was already part of a different political discussion. Instead of studying the effects that people and politics have on the climate, the likes of Jean Bodin were interested in the effects that the climate, or the environment in general, has on people and politics. According to Bodin, people are material beings whose bodies are influenced greatly by their environment. All rulers ought to comprehend this or face the risk of devastation. Although Bodin’s theory is built largely upon the ancient ideas of four bodily fluids, climatic zones, and astrology, it was still one of his most famous contributions to political philosophy. In the words of Kenneth Douglas McRae, Bodin’s “concept of sovereignty, his theory of climate, and his advocacy of religious toleration have today become commonplace in practically all the histories of political thought.” Bodin was not the first to propose a theory about climates and humors, the way that they affect people’s actions, or even their political significance. However, his take on the subject differs from most of the previous ancient, medieval, and early modern theorists. As McRae puts it, Bodin was less concerned about the more specific aspects such as how the humors affect single individuals, and more intrigued by the social and political elements connected to this question. Bodin claims that previous political writers have neglected this topic with disastrous results. Furthermore, Marian J. Tooley argues that Bodin did not focus on the already thoroughly debated questions such as the compatibility of free will and environmental influence but applied the climate theory to serve a political purpose instead. Although the environment could not entirely determine the way people act, the temperaments were still of great political importance. The inclinations could be altered with enough time or with the help of the right discipline. Furthermore, the ruling entity ought to act like a good architect who considers the materials available in the proximity. Others had already claimed that people of different climates should be disciplined accordingly but Bodin goes even further by stating that the nature of the particular climate affects the optimal form of commonwealth. A ruler looking to avoid desolation knows the natural inclinations of the subjects. Bodin emphasizes the need “to discuss the particular characteristics of the different sorts of commonwealth that the diversity of races requires. Political institutions must be adapted to environment and human laws to natural laws. Those who have failed to do this, and have tried to make nature obey their laws, have brought disorder, and even ruin, on great states.” A universal system is not enough – the prudent sovereign has to know the nature, or bodily humors, of the subjects. Furthermore, the entire political system has to be adapted accordingly in order for it to be successful in governing humans as material beings. This paper considers the various biopolitical elements linked to this curious branch of Bodin’s political thought.