Political obligation and the self1 matthew noah smith. These allow them to take an active part in the political process. I mean that term to include both the obligation of the subject towards the sovereign, of the citizen towards the state, and the obligations of individuals to each other as enforced by a political superior. Thus, political obligation seems to be a kind of obligation concerning the duties of political leaders and citizens together who, as a collectivity, are responsible for the political system as a whole.
Political obligation is of immense significance in rousseaus theory. Pdf political obligation, and the site and scope of justice. Dec 28, 2017 there are three main characteristics of the political obligations. Political obligation thus refers to the moral duty of citizens to obey the laws of their state. Rousseau believed the liberty of the individual as the ultimate goal of any society but he also thought that this goal could be best realized through the political obligation owed to the state by its citizens. Schmitter istituto universitario europeo firenze, italia genaio 2007 democracy has many definitions, implications and consequences, but accountability is one of its most important components. The phrase political obligation is apparently no older than t. Management of public affairs political legitimacy resistance to authority management of public affairs. Much has been written about lockes second treatise, but still, i believe, the books main line of argument has been left unclear. The two words from which green formed the phrase are much older, of course, and he apparently thought that combining them required no elaborate.
The obligations in question are not moral requirements derived from general moral principles. Political obligation, and the site and scope of justice. The goal of basic political concepts is to provide exactly what the title suggests. By political obligation, theorists generally mean a moral requirement to obey the law of ones state or ones country. Pdf on jul 30, 2018, rex martin and others published political obligation. Abner greene argues that there is no successful general case for a presumptive or prima facie moral duty to obey the law. There are various views about whether or not a political obligation is a moral obligation.
A theory of political obligation paperback margaret. Political and constitutional obligation louis michael seidman in his provocative, courageous, and original new book, 1. The principle of fair play cambridge university press. Using the url or doi link below will ensure access to this page indefinitely. There is great controversy about the interpretation of platos political philosophy and numerous unresolved issues. Where legitimate political authority exists, so too will political obligations. Political obligation is based on morality, ethic and values of political party. The authority of the state implies that those who exercise it have the right of action to issue orders and the right of recipience to have those orders obeyed, and that, corresponding to the second right, the citizens have a duty or obligation to obey the orders. Does one have special obligations to support the political institutions of ones own country precisely because it is ones own. Political authority and political obligation by stephen r. The state claims that individuals have a moral obligation to obey the law, be it just or unjust, required by morality or contrary to it, a good solution to a coordination problem or not, and so on.
A genuinely original and distinctive theory of political obligation. All plausible analyses of political legitimacy either build in the concept of political obligation, or else incorporate claims that require some account of political obligation. Apart from the obvious prudential and selfinterested reasons to avoid punishment, loss of reputation, and so forth, is there a moral obligation to do what the law requires just because the law requires it. What i mean by this is that for political obligation to take hold, we. A theory of political obligation membership, commitment, and the bonds of society margaret gilbert. If you have an obligation to do something because of some facts, then that fact is the ground for that obligation. Dec 12, 20 all government officials in the united states swear an oath of fealty to the constitution, and thus, despite ones views on political obligation generally in against obligation, i argue that there is no general, contentindependent, moral duty to obey the law, one might think that in taking their jobs, officials in the u. Humans have a political obligation to obey a sovereign power, and once they have. Rejecting the last question as unreal, prichard then argues. Pdf political obligation, and the site and scope of.
Philosophy of law, right and authority to rule or to require compliance, state coercion, normative power of the state, theories of political authority and duty, general obligation to obey the law, types of moral power, valueofintentionality condition, prospectivity condition. How should we understand the relationship between citizens and governments, and what are the obligations of citizens. I take the controversy to be about whether law can have a transsubstantive, bridging function. In sum, then, it seems there is a special area of political obligation, centred upon the obligation to abide by the rule of law. What are the characteristics of political obligations.
Ideas and ideologies henry gruijters feb 2008 what is political obligation and what creates it. But they can be distinguished, and the distinction can be. That vista is defined by a legal norm of disjunctive structure. The principle of fair play i the traditional consent theory account of political obligation can be understood as advancing two basic claims.
Nov 22, 2016 meaning of political obligation it implies that as man is a political animals. After a discussion of specifically political obligations the term consent is introduced, defined and analyzed. Political rights are those rights by virtue of which inhabitants get a share in the political process. Remember, a political obligation is one you are dutybound to follow because of its source the state and your relationship to it. This underpins much of hobbess political philosophy, stating that humans have a political obligation or duty to prevent the creation of a state of nature.
Political obligation stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Political philosophyexamine the basis for political obligation in light of various theories like social contract,general consent, general will, justice and common goodproblem of political obligations is the fundamental or central problem of the politicalphilosophy. Oct 15, 2010 how should we understand the relationship between citizens and governments, and what are the obligations of citizens. Political authority and political obligation penn law. A political obligation is a requirement for the citizens of a society to follow the laws of that society. The most influential socialcontract theorists were the 17th18th century philosophers thomas hobbes, john locke, and jeanjacques rousseau. Chapter 1 focuses on concepts useful in analyzing individual decisions and actions, which surely are the basic stuff. Political obligation internet encyclopedia of philosophy.
Read this article to learn about the 3 theories of the ground of political obligation. Whether this may be due to historical circumstances, or to a peculiar bent of the english mind, is a fascinating question. I argue that there is no moral duty to obey our foundational law. In the liberal tradition, liberty is a central value, and so the fact that some individuals should obey others must be explained.
Although thinkersincluding ponet and buchanantraced the origin of. The essay begins with an analysis of the characteristics most believe an obligation to obey the law would have if it existed. Gilbert is widely admired for her work in this area. The liberalor modernview of political obligation is classically expressed in john lockes second treatise of government. Ppt notes in political obligation emmanuel j bacud. The real question arises as how we mean to political obligation. In cases where an act or forbearance that is required by law is morally.
The chapter closes with an account of the ideological. I have entitled the subject of the course political obligation. This book argues for an affirmative answer, construing ones country as a political society of which one is a member, and a political society as a special type of social group. Theories of political obligation can be roughly divided into three camps.
The moral reasons posited by the traditional theories of political obligation i. Consent and the basis of political obligation with reference made to. Theyre the facts that generate the obligation that gave rise to it. All government officials in the united states swear an oath of fealty to the constitution, and thus, despite ones views on political obligation generally in against obligation, i argue that there is no general, contentindependent, moral duty to obey the law, one might think that in taking their jobs, officials in the u. Some even argued that the existence of political obligations could be established by conceptual analysis alone a point we return to in 3. The phrase, political obligation, is far more popular in english than in other european languages. There are philosophical issues however, about whether or not a citizen should follow a law simply because it is a law. Hwb unit i introduction to political obligation meaning, nature and scope of political obligation evolution of the concept of political obligation contemporary developments political obligation and right political obligation and duty. These rights include right to vote, right to get elected, right to hold public office and right to criticise and oppose the government. Examines four principle questions about moral obligation raised by key philosophers. Definitions and characteristics central characteristics which mutually constitute a political economy approach. Social contract, in political philosophy, an actual or hypothetical compact, or agreement, between the ruled and their rulers, defining the rights and duties of each.
By political obligation, theorists generally mean a moral requirement to obey the law. Platos political philosophy uva department of politics. Political accountability in realexisting democracies. Managing public affairs and active participation 2. Frequently, the terms political obligation and political authority get used interchangeably. Apart from the obvious prudential and selfinterested reasons to avoid punishment, loss of reputation, and so forth, is there a moral obligation to do what the law requires just because the law requi. Political and constitutional obligation georgetown law. Lectures on the principles of political obligation t. I mean that term to include both the obligation of the subject towards the sovereign, of the citizen towards the state, and the obligations of individuals to each other as. In either case, political legitimacy is possible only when a state successfully generates in its citizens an obligation to obey the law. Basic political concepts 4 a global text the goal of basic political concepts is to provide exactly what the title suggests. To a lay man the word means to have a political obligation is to have a moral duty to obey the laws of ones country or state. The domain of political obligation is situated between ethics and law.
Some concepts need more prominence the duty to preserve mankind, the right of war, and private judgment. The grounds of political obligation are the facts that give citizens the obligation to obey the law. In this substantially revised new edition of an influential text, john horton challenges dominant theories by offering an associative account focusing particularly on what it is to be a member of a political community. Natural duty characteristics of political obligation 1. Locke on political obligation volume 45 issue 3 john kilcullen. Hobbess concept of moral obligation thus intertwines with the concept of political obligation. Upon this theory the necessity which stands above and apart from the citizen and the governing authority is that of the divine will and ordinance. Political obligation, simmons maintains, carries an implicit connection to citizenship, which means that those who are engaged in the political obligation debate are only interested in those moral requirements including obligations and duties which bind an individual to one particular political community, set of institutions, etc. Dagger arizona state university it is sometimes said that the problem of political obligation is the fundamental or central problem of political philosophy. However, as this utilitarian account of political obligation develops, the possibility will also emerge for a nonantagonistic relationship between the utilitarian theory on offer and the contemporary political obligation debate.
Theories of political obligation fall into five general sorts. There are three main characteristics of the political obligations. Political obligation,meaning nature and characteristics. This suggests in turn that we should begin our analysis of the related.
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