An Investigation Concerning the State

Any state exists only for the benefit of human beings. This basic tenet of Edith Stein's political thought rests on her conviction that humanity is fundamentally one community, precious beyond measure. Differences of race, culture, and language offer us means to grasp the values of life uniquely so that we may share them universally, reaching across all such social boundaries.

Stein wrote this treatise in the early days of the Weimar Republic, shortly after the First World War. It sets forth...