The Consent Theory of Political Obligation

Description

First published in 1987. The theory that political obligation and authority are derived from the consent of citizens is commonly accepted in the history of Western political thought. It is expressed in the famous assertion of the American Declaration of Independence that governments derive ‘their just powers from the consent of the governed’ and in the constitutions of some Western powers. This book provides the first systematic and comprehensive restatement and defence of consent theory since the 19th Century. It distinguishes consent from contract theory, examines what the actual consent of citizens can consist in and what place it must have in liberal democratic theory. The consent theory’s relationship with ethics is explored and the major objections to the theory are countered. The author points to some political reforms which would increase the proportion of citizens in liberal democracies whose consent places them under political obligation. The book provides an overview of the current state of the consent theory of political obligation and authority. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Original Title Page Original Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements Dedication 1. Introduction 2. Conceptual Preliminaries and Normative Assumptions Consent Authority Obligation, duty and ought Natural and institutional morality Normative assumptions 3. The Membership Version of Consent Theory Exposition Argument for consent theory Consent theory and secession Errors avoided Two remarks 4. Consent and Three Versions of Democratic Liberalism Actual consent liberalism and its rivals Hypothetical consent liberalism Utilitarian liberalism 5. Three Versions of Actual Consent Theory The membership version and its rivals The democracy version The reciprocal obligation version 6. Replies to Objections On Wolff crying anarchism Objections which misunderstand the scope of consent theory Objections from insufficient freedom of consent Consent not a necessary condition of political obligation Consent proves too much Consent-based political obligation undesirable 7. Reforms Required to Maximise Consent-based Political Obligation and Authority Some necessary reforms Political obligation and participatory democracy Political education 8. Political Obligation and Moral Ought Obligation but not ought Ought but not obligation Political legitimacy Different senses of political obligation 9. Summary of the Membership Version of Consent Theory Summary Consent or contract? Bibliography Author Index Subject Index