Writer, Artist
Government: Force Tethered, Life Unbound
The Definitive Treatise on Political Order.
A new system of political taxonomy, based upon the principle that governments exist in order to protect individual rights. This principle allows one to categorize any government – current or historical – according to the attribute of purpose (the actual purpose or the stated purpose), the government’s juridical position in regard to property, the structure (separation of powers), the administrative structure (federal or unitary), the agency (who exercises power). This taxonomy will replace the outdated system of “one-few-many” from the ancient world, as well as the more modern ones that simply name a handful of arbitrary categories.
The systematic approach to classification also allows one to grasp and analyze the major political concepts encountered in political discussions, such as republic, democracy, autocratic, tyranny, socialist, fascist, and many more.
The book provides the foundations that undergird this new system, including the metaphysical, epistemological, ethical and praxeological premises upon which it is built. Next, it identifies the elements that make up all governments. With this foundational material it then identifies the separate attributes that allow one to categorize a government.
Extensive examples are cited both from contemporary and historical governments, as well as from the leading philosophical characterizations of governments and their purposes, as given by Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Marxists, Rand and many others.
The book then shows how this system enables one to evaluate any government, and to assess the stability of governments.
The final section of the book is a series of extended discussions of specific terms often encountered, such as republic or democracy, and others, and a general glossary of political concepts.
This book is now available on Amazon, in paperback and as an eBook (Kindle). You may order it here: It may also be ordered through your bookstore from IngramSpark.
You may contact me for information or comments about the book at sovereign4@gmail.com
Monographs
In editing the book – Government: Force Tethered – I found it necessary to remove certain sections to reduce the scale of the work. As you can see, it is still a large work. The sections I removed I set aside, with the goal of publishing those separately, as individual monographs. I am working now on editing those to make them suitable as stand-alone essays. They will be made available to interested readers, upon application, as they are completed. Please send your request to sovereign4@gmail.com.
These are the titles planned for publication:
The Augean Stables of Political Discourse
Ideas in Human History
The Limited Tasks of Government: Ayn Rand’s Three Functions of Government Re-examined
The Mathematicization of Political Science
Practical Reasoning
Two Concepts of the Purpose of Government
What Separation of Powers Is Not
Sub Species Aeternitatis
The Unitary Executive Theory
Dignity
The Purpose of Political Science
Sovereign
An Epic Saga of Individualism, Envy, and the Fight for a Man’s Soul.
In a foreign, strife-torn land, and then in America, two brothers' lives turn from hero-worship to a deadly contest. What could drive these two to become mortal enemies? Can either survive as an individual?
You have heard the story of the unrecognized artistic genius, but what of the genius recognized too well...recognized and envied. Why should his brilliant talent be hostage to lethal seeds sown in his childhood?
How could two brothers, so different, both love the same woman? How could she be attracted to each?
Why would the clash of an individual against his race tear a family apart? Do you owe your life to your race? Do you owe your life to your family? What do you owe to yourself? What is an individual? What ideas create individualism in a man's soul and in a culture? What ideas create racism? What is the nature of the clash between individualism and its opposite, racism?
What will happen when a young woman discovers that the man she had worshipped is a monster –– when a man discovers that he has given up the woman who should have been his –– when a woman who had seduced a man discovers that she has defiled not just her body but her soul –– when a woman must choose between her husband and her two sons –– when a man's two brothers oppose everything he stands for –– when a father must choose between two sons?
Read Sovereign to discover the answers to these questions.
The three volumes may be ordered on Amazon in paper, or as eBooks (Kindle). You may buy the book here: You may contact me for further information or comments at sovereign4@gmail.com.
Visual Artworks
I love art. I hope you do too.
But love it or not, we all need it. Art has been here since the dawn of humankind, and in every corner of the world.
It replenishes our spirit and makes us feel at home in the world.
I hope that some of my art speaks to you in this way.
Many more of my artworks, sold and unsold, may be found on this website.
About
Welcome. I am John L. Pattillo — political theorist, novelist, and visual artist. Throughout my life, my work has been driven by a singular, profound fascination: the nature of the individual soul and the ideas that cultivate true human liberty. Whether exploring these themes through the rigorous analysis of academic political theory or the emotional, high-stakes lens of dramatic fiction, my goal is to challenge readers to think for themselves, and not to blindly follow the unexamined ideas that may be thrust upon them.
Featured Works
Government: Force Tethered, Life Unbound, a definitive treatise on political order.
A comprehensive work of political philosophy, this comprehensive treatise presents a strong, fresh framework for modern limited government.
[Buy the Paperback Block Link] [Buy the Kindle eBook Block Link]
Sovereign: The Complete Three-Volume Trilogy
An epic dramatic saga spanning two worlds. Follow the gripping, intense contest between two brothers as artistic genius is challenged by a life-or-death struggle born of lethal childhood seeds and mortal envy. A gripping work of fiction and a deeply philosophical look at the clash between individualism and racism.
[Purchase the Trilogy Block Link]
About the Author
My creative path has been influenced by decades of intellectual discipline and artistic expression. For many years, I was also deeply active in the competitive world of ballroom dance. That rich experience and my artistic training allowed me to explore the structural beauty of the human figure, a perspective that naturally extends into my writing layout and cover designs.
For the record, my credentials are these: a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Princeton University; a Master’s degree in philosophy from Roosevelt University; completed the five-year fine arts program with the Schuler School of Fine Arts in Baltimore; received the Fellowship degree in Ballroom Dancing from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance.
I live and work in Pennsylvania, where I continuing to write non-fiction and to create visual artworks.
For questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to reach out directly at: sovereign4@gmail.com