Why Stoics Make Things Political

"We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident," Carried to Its Natural Conclusion.

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Many insist that Stoicism is not political. 

But have you ever heard, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”?

Those truths seemed self-evident to the founding fathers because the ancient Stoics believed the universe had a purposeful and rational order. By tapping into our rational natures, Stoics think we bring ourselves into accord with the universe. Socrates and the Stoics thought that virtue was ultimately rational and in alignment with this deeper order, and living in accord with it became the central tenet of Stoicism. 

Ancient Roman jurists, early Christians, and the US founding fathers broadly agreed with the ancient Stoics, and this line of thinking became the basis of the natural law and human rights.

If you’re going to live in accordance with the universe’s rational order, you need to act to bring your thoughts, words, and deeds into alignment with it, which usually means involvement in your community — politics.

You can’t really be Stoic without expressing wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation through the political process or your community involvement, whatever that looks like to you, unless something stops you. You probably aren’t just if you abandon a major lever of justice — going to vote — unless you’ve got a great reason why you shouldn’t.  

So yes, Stoicism is inherently political because abandoning politics frequently means abandoning virtue, which a true Stoic doesn’t do.