Freedom, Bounded and Unbounded: The Justification of Coercive Force in Balthasar's Account of Human Freedom

Abstract Balthasar seems well‐qualified to mediate even‐handedly an ongoing dispute between traditional Augustinian and Thomistic ethics and more recent cross‐focused ethical frameworks over the legitimacy of coercive force. Unlike some cross‐centred theologians, he does not categorically reject coercive force, aligning more closely with Alasdair MacIntyre's views and traditional Augustinian and Thomistic thought. However, Balthasar's thought suggests a stronger emphasis on reformative justice, which echoes Christ's kenotic gift of freedom‐granting grace to all but those who obdurately refuse it. In the resulting paradigm, legitimate use of force attempts to undo the terms on which it was necessary to coerce, thereby maintaining the priority of freedom while nevertheless granting that coercion may sometimes be legitimate. While these conclusions are not novel, his rigorously cross‐centred account of their grounding makes him a relevant voice in the debate.