ToP- Political Obligation and Civil Disobedience

What does consent theory require before the state can be justified?

citizens' consent

Under consent theory, what is exchanged for the benefits of the state?

an obligation to obey the state and its laws

What empirical fact creates the central problem for consent theory?

we are born under state authority without formally consenting

Why cannot one generation's consent justify restricting all later generations?

later generations have not consented

What form of consent is inferred from participation in state institutions?

tacit consent

What four conditions are required for genuine consent in the notes?

knowledge, intent, communication and genuine choice

Why does voting fail to establish tacit consent to state authority?

there is no option of anarchy

Why does simply enjoying state benefits fail to establish consent?

enjoyment is not voluntary

What does Hume's ship example challenge?

the inference from remaining in a situation to consent

What is the central claim of the Principle of Fairness?

accepting state benefits creates political obligations

What feature of state benefits makes the shared-well analogy problematic?

state benefits are not avoidable and excludable

Why does the shared-well example work better than the state-benefit case?

the good can be avoided and exclusion is possible

What is Nozick's response to obligations from state benefits?

unsolicited benefits create no obligations to reciprocate

What example does Nozick use to illustrate unsolicited benefits?

a communal public address system

According to Klosko, what must the benefits of a scheme do relative to its costs?

outweigh them

According to Klosko, what kind of goods can generate obligations?

presumptively beneficial goods

What must be fair in Klosko's account besides the benefits themselves?

the distribution of benefits and burdens

What does the irrigation example illustrate for Klosko?

an obligation can arise from unavoidable and unexcludable benefits

Why does the irrigation example not establish a state-like obligation?

it lacks coercive enforceability

What is the central claim of the Natural Duty Account?

the state enables us to fulfil duties to others

What pre-existing relationship grounds natural duties?

our duties to other people

What does Samaritanism illustrate in the Natural Duty Account?

a natural duty to help others

Why is the state of nature morally significant for the Natural Duty Account?

it would place people in extreme peril

Which state functions are given as examples of fulfilling natural duties?

healthcare and welfare

What problem does the Natural Duty Account face concerning national borders?

why prioritise citizens when duties extend to all people

What limitation might be placed on natural duties to answer the cost objection?

they apply only when not too costly

How can the tax objection be answered within the Natural Duty Account?

taxes are limited relative to the benefits provided

What does Hirschmann challenge about the idea that obligations require consent?

many duties are neither consented to nor reciprocal

According to Hirschmann, where does the consent requirement originate?

traditionally privileged male liberal thinkers

To whom is the relevant natural duty directed rather than to the state itself?

fellow citizens

What is Simmons's position on state authority?

states are illegitimate

Why does Simmons nevertheless reject abolishing the state?

it secures goods for us

What does Simmons's position justify without establishing political obligation?

the state's continued existence

What does philosophical anarchism deny?

legitimate political authority

Why do philosophical anarchists still oppose returning to the state of nature?

they regard it as undesirable

What is the difference between a priori and a posteriori anarchism?

a priori denies authority is possible, a posteriori says it is possible but unrealised

Which form of anarchism endorses express consent theory?

a posteriori anarchism

Whose view makes authority impossible because it conflicts with autonomy?

Wolff's

What problem is raised for the coherence of philosophical anarchism?

it may collapse into political anarchism or accept state legitimacy

How does Rawls define civil disobedience?

a public, nonviolent and conscientious breach of law aimed at changing laws or policies

What did Thoreau mean by 'civil' in civil disobedience?

within the borders of the nation-state

What does 'civil' imply for Rawls?

civility and public decorum

What broader form of resistance is contrasted with civil disobedience?

militant resistance

What does militant resistance reject that civil disobedience broadly accepts?

the current political system

What does 'fidelity to the law' indicate about civil disobedience?

broad acceptance of the legal system

What assumption of Rawls's account is challenged by its historical context?

that society is already nearly just

What major social context complicated Rawls's nearly-just-society assumption?

the civil rights movement and racial segregation

What omission is noted in Rawls's discussion of civil disobedience?

race

What alternative view treats injustice as systematic rather than exceptional?

democratic civil disobedience

What democratic function can protest perform on this alternative view?

balancing power

What can civil disobedience provide to an oppressed group beyond legal change?

self-determination

How can collective struggle affect an oppressed group?

it unifies and strengthens the group

When is civil disobedience direct rather than indirect?

when the broken law is the law being debated

How high is Rawls's threshold for justified disobedience?

very high

What must majority error seriously harm for Rawls's strongest case for disobedience?

the first principle of justice

What temporal condition does Rawls add to serious violations?

they must occur over an extended period

Why must civil disobedience be public?

to convince others

Why must Rawlsian civil disobedience be nonviolent?

to avoid interfering with others' civil liberties

Why must it be conscientious?

it must give a clear public reason for disruption

What must civil disobedience aim to convince the majority of?

their moral error about the law

How do liberal thinkers and King differ over what makes a law just?

liberals stress a just system, King appeals to moral law

What does Lyons reject about the assumption underlying Rawls's account?

political obligation

Why does Lyons think civil disobedience needs no special moral justification?

there is no moral obligation not to disobey

Which three historical examples are used against the assumption of a just prevailing system?

chattel slavery, colonial rule and Jim Crow

Which theorist is associated with resistance to chattel slavery in the notes?

Thoreau

Which theorist is associated with resistance to British colonial rule?

Gandhi

Which theorist is associated with resistance to Jim Crow?

King

What issue does the self-immolation example raise?

whether self-violence counts as civil disobedience

Why might self-violence undermine civil disobedience?

it may harm communication

Who argues that self-violence may still count if necessary?

Brownlee

What is Sabl's paradox concerning violence?

why remain civil toward an oppressor when violence may seem justified

What residual-obligation problem does Sabl identify?

why remain obligated to an unjust state