the ethical to the later. It is on this basis that he criti-
cizes utilitarianism for confusing and mixing these
concepts. However, if politics is merely the art of the
Useful, then the political and its institutions are
beyond the call of the ethical. The rise of fascism
encouraged Croce to make clear the need for an ethical
dimension within the political. Whether this is, in the
end, compatible with the starting point of his project is
the subject of debate.
Croce was born in Pescasseroli in southern Italy to
a wealthy family. Orphaned as a child, he spent much
of his life in the Italian city of Naples. He became a life
member of the Italian senate in 1910 and was deeply
involved in liberal politics following the defeat of fas-
cism in World War II. He died at the age of 86.
Further Reading
Bellamy, R. P. “Liberalism and historicism: Benedetto Croce and
the political role of idealism in modern Italy 1890–1952.”
In Moulakis, A., The Promise of History: Essays in Political
Philosophy.Berlin: De Gruyter, 1986.
Cromwell, Oliver (1599–1658) English sol-
dier, statesman, and Puritan religious leader
Most remembered as lord protector of the English
commonwealth period (1653–58) Cromwell espoused
democratic parliamentary ideals but ruled as a virtual
dictator. Living during the English civil wars
(1640–60) between CATHOLICroyalty and Protestant
Parliament, Cromwell was a military leader of the
PURITANarmy that defeated King Charles I. He led the
movement to declare the monarch a traitor and signed
the warrant leading to the execution of Charles I. Par-
liament named Cromwell lord protector. He ruled
England through a series of constitutional experi-
ments reflecting his Puritan theology and REPUBLICAN
ideology. The “barebones” Parliament was an example
of this; it consisted of 140 “saints” nominated by the
church congregations and appointed by the lord pro-
tector. At other times he ruled through the major
generals of the new model army, but most of Crom-
well’s government was via his powerful personal and
spiritual magnetism. He refused to be crowned king.
He saw English history at a perilous point between
the true church and the forces of the anti-Christ. His
government reformed church-governing structures
as well as the country’s morals and customs, along
Puritan CHRISTIANlines. Education and laws were mo-
deled upon the Christian Bible, and many decadent
social amusements (e.g., theater) and witchcraft were
prosecuted.
Cromwell’s experiment in a Christian common-
wealth was not entirely successful, but it influenced
the later parliamentary “glorious revolution” of 1688,
which did establish parliamentary supremacy and
Protestant Christianity in Britain. He said of his politi-
cal career “I have not sought these things; truly I have
been called unto them by the Lord.”
Educated at Cambridge University, Cromwell
served in Parliament and represented the independent
(Congregational) church interests before commencing
his famous military and political service. Known to
combine great humility (describing himself as “a
worm”) with great fierceness (as in the invasion of
Ireland), Cromwell’s character was complex and mys-
terious.Further Reading
Ashley, Maurice. Oliver Cromwell.London: John Cape, 1937.cultism
A cult is a social group that is usually associated with a
dominant, forceful leader. Cults often have religious
and political overtones. For example, in the United
States, several religious cults have formed around
charismatic leaders who claimed to be the Christ or
God. The cult leader usually demands total submission
to himself or herself, claiming absolute authority over
the members of the cult. Often, religious cults will
revolve around a belief in the imminent end of the
world and preparation for the destruction of Earth.
Frequently, cults separate themselves from the larger
society and prepare for the end by stockpiling food,
weapons, and computers. The cult leader often claims
to be in direct communication with God and directs
the cult accordingly. Often fearful of outside interfer-
ence, cults in recent times commit mass suicide (for
example the Jim Jones cult, the Hale-Bopp Comet cult,
and the Branch Davidian cult). Their stockpiling of
weapons often brings a cult under investigation by the
government.
Politically, some regimes have been accused of cult
leader worship (as the SOVIET UNION’s leaders after
Joseph STALIN’s death complained of his “cult of per-
sonality”) when a dictator assumes godlike status.
The sociological definition of a religious cult is a
group whose beliefs or practices lie way outside the
established religious institutions. So, often, state76 Cromwell, Oliver