Fox, C (2015) Political authority, practical identity, and binding citizens. International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 23 (2). pp. 168-186. ISSN 0967-2559
Abstract
Allen Buchanan (2002) argues that it doesn’t matter whether a state has authority in the sense of being able to create binding obligations for its citizens, so long as it is morally justified in wielding political power. In this paper, I look at this issue from a slightly different angle. I argue that it matters a great deal whether citizens relate to their state in an obligatory fashion. This is for two reasons. First, a fully morally justified state must be an efficacious state; it must be able to realise its values and make its rules stick. My contention will be that enduring stability can only be secured when citizens, or at least a significant proportion of citizens, are tangibly bound to regulate their conduct in accordance with a principle of obedience to just states. Second, it is only when individuals interact in the right way with the justification for state power that the state itself as a pervasive and coercive entity does not pose a problem for them as reason-responsive agents. In fact, under the right circumstances, submission to state authority can greatly enhance autonomy as it facilitates collective responses to challenges that individuals would struggle to overcome alone.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 Taylor & Francis. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the International Journal of Philosophical Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Authority; legitimacy; identity; obligation; autonomy |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 30 Apr 2015 11:05 |
Last Modified: | 28 Oct 2016 12:53 |
Published Version: | https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09672559.2015.1020827 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis (Routledge) |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/09672559.2015.1020827 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:84987 |