- Lived:
- c. 1275, Padua, Italy – c. 1342, Munich, Germany
- Tradition:
- Medieval political philosophy; the first full theory of popular sovereignty
- The Big Idea:
- All legitimate political power rises from the whole body of citizens — and any authority that claims to rule over them from above, especially the pope's, is a usurpation and a disease.
- In their words:
- "The legislator, the first and proper efficient cause of the law, is the people: the whole body of citizens, or its weightier part, commanding through its own choice and will."
- If you remember one thing:
- In 1324 a physician-turned-philosopher wrote the most dangerous book of the Middle Ages — arguing that rulers are the people's removable servants and priests should coerce no one — and had to flee for his life the moment his name leaked.