The Heresy of Popular Sovereignty

For the first time since its original release in 1892, Charles Maignen's influential work La souveraineté du peuple est une hérésie (The Sovereignty of the People Is a Heresy) is now available in English, introduced as the second volume of Stabat Mater Press' Library of Catholic Political Thought. This powerful theological and political treatise challenges one of modernity's foundational principles-the idea that sovereignty resides inherently in the people. This second Stabat Mater Press edition includes a foreword from Dr. John Rao. 

Drawing on Catholic doctrine and the teachings of Suarez, Maignen argues that true sovereignty belongs to God and is exercised through legitimate authorities, not directly by the people. He exposes the revolutionary doctrine of popular sovereignty as a dangerous error and a heresy that undermines divine order and social stability.

An important read for anyone interested in Catholic political philosophy, this work provides a rigorous critique of liberal and democratic ideologies from a 19th-century wholly Catholic integralist perspective. Maignen's sharp defense of monarchy and divine authority fits well with ongoing debates about legitimacy, governance, and morality.

LAUDS AND APPROBATIONS

“The author opposes the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which derives from the impious and heretical slogan of the Revolution, All power comes from the people. He therefore opposes not this or that form of government, but the Revolution itself: ‘Do you want to kill it?’ says he. ‘Strike the liberal Catholics, and you will kill the Revolution!’ Yes, it is indeed true: the liberal Catholics (or the liberals who call themselves Catholics, regardless of whether or not they understand what they are saying), by calling themselves by that name, are in fact the vanguard of Freemasonry, the wise according to the flesh (I Corinthians 1:26), the heroes of fear, the valiant soldiers of retreat! And thus they are an obstacle to the good cause. ‘Herein lies the obstacle to salvation—liberal Catholicism!’”
—La Civiltà Cattolica, 1892.

“The proof of the principles set forth is presented… in the book in clear and concise terms, and can be read even by those who have little time. The author has sought to clarify the points upon which contemporary errors are based and to demonstrate the consequences of false maxims that, due to a sort of conventional wisdom, are accepted as true by many people.”
—L’Université catholique, 1892.

“Was it not already a revolution to proclaim… that the law is the expression of the general will, and that the source of all authority lies essentially in the nation? Is this organization of society without God not, then, the most formidable of errors, ‘total heresy’ as… Charles Maignen calls it—in a word, the Revolution?”
—Henri Lucien-Brun, Revue Catholique des institutions et du droit