Social Philosophy

In his commentary on the Apocalypse and in his Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Olivi discusses the Franciscan ideal of absolute poverty and articulates in his own way, how using the necessities of life is possible without claiming property of them (usus pauper). Olivi was an early leader of the ‘‘Spiritual’’ reform movement, and indeed it seems that to some extent the doctrinal condemnations against him seem to be connected with the reactions against this radical reform movement. Nevertheless, such major thinkers as John Duns Scotus and William of Ockham follow Olivi in some central features of their own theories of ideal poverty. These discussions led to the idea of subjective rights that got a very central position in modern social philosophy. In Olivi’s view, rights must be constituted by an act of free will, and thus the natural order does not imply any rights. This view is stated clearly in his theory of property acquisition and of political power.

As Olivi formulates it theoretically, Franciscan poverty in based on giving up one’s freedom, the most valuable thing any person has and the very foundation of person-hood. In giving up one’s freedom, the Franciscan brother accepts absolute obedience to God and gives up all kinds of property rights, private as well as common. This did not mean absolute obedience to any authority of the church, but rather made the issue of obedience an issue of conscience. Olivi is known as an apocalyptic thinker who thought the Antichrist would be a Pope. Indeed, he saw a widespread decay of the Church: ‘‘the whole Church is infected from head to toe, confused, and turned into a new Babylon as it were.’’ He saw the Franciscan movement as having brought a new age to the Church, emphasizing the role of the Holy Spirit in this new historical era.