The constitutional state in the political philosophy of Johannes Althusius

The central questions of this article are: a) Based on what arguments defended Johannes Althusius the distinction between the private and public life sphere? b) What kind of relationships exist between the state on the one hand, and private and other public associations on the other hand? c) Based on what arguments may the government restrict actions of citizens and private associations? Answering these questions leads to the conclusion that Althusius should be mentioned as one of the founding fathers of the liberal constitutional state. © 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers.