Core ideas - political legitimacy

Hobbes- De Cive - Union

agreement not to refuse will of counsell (gathering of men deciding the common good for all men)

Hobbes- De cive - Counsell

Gathering of men deciding the common good for all men

Hobbes- De cive - Person

union with unified will, civil society. combined faculty of members (City) and power to maintain and defend peace

Hobbes - is a group of merchants a common defense? is it civil in Hobbes eyes?

A group of merchants with a common defnse is not civil, but a CHief Command if it’s strong enough. However, it is not stable enough because according to human nature the have interests and language which will lead to disputes.

What is the difference between natural cities and political cities in Hobbes De Cive?

In a natural city, men submit out of feare, ruler acquires citizens out of his own choice or circumstance and cities are ruled according to paternal power or form despotic (rule of one). In political or institutive cities citizens willingly appoint a ruler, it’s rooted in counsell and mutual agreement and not based on domination and submission

Lock - 2nd treatise - Political power

Right to make laws for protection and regulation of property, backed by community for the Common Good.

locke - 2nd treatise - difference between paternal, familial and political power

paternal power of father over son until age 21, familial power does not rule over life and death, whereas political power does.

Locke - state of nature

Power is distributed equally, there is no power over eachother. Everyone is free to do as they please, but this does not license to abuse.

How does Locke ground his argument of natural law existing?

He argues that when in a foreign terrority, you commit a crime, you can still receive punishment.

State of war - Locke

State of war is a period of emnity and destruction. There is a premeditated attempt at antoher’s life.

Locke- Law of self-preservation

In the state of war, men is allowed to kill in self-defense, incuding defense of property.

Locke - When does conflict end acordig to Locke?

In a state of nature, conflict ends if reperations are paid, in a state of war, it ends when the end of force arrives because from that point a authority can deal with the consequences.

Locke- What is civil Political Society?

The first society exist between men and women, which is a conjured societ that does not rule over life and death. The commonwealth combines legilative and executive power on basis of public support which is not a paternalistic power

Locke - Political society Where does political society start?

The majority of individuals can start the politic authority. In Lockes writing there is a lack of historical majority rule but there is rule under 1 male by consent; however parents can not decide for their children.

Kant - Doctrine of Rights - what is doctrine of right

Constitutional state in which each person as their own moral agent can pursue their own path to happiness without being co-erced by others

Kant - Doctrine of rights - which 3 principles must be fulfilled for the well being? (

Well-being i defined as the condition in which constitution conforms to principles of right being:
1. Freedom of every member of the state as a human being
2. Equality of each with each other as subject
3. Independance of every member of commonwealth as a citizien.
FEIN

Doctrine of Right - Right

Right is therefor the sum of the conditions under which the choice of one can be united with the choice of another in accordance with a universal law of freedom.

Doctrine of right - strict right

"strict right" is the idea that the concept of "Right" should be based solely on external rules and not mixed with ethical considerations. According to Kant, these rules should allow for universal reciprocal coercion, meaning that everyone can use external constraints while still being free in accordance with universal laws. This concept is like having rules for everyone to play fairly without appealing to personal feelings or ethical beliefs.

For instance, if someone owes a debt, the idea of a creditor having the "right" to demand payment doesn't mean reminding the debtor about a personal sense of duty. Instead, it means that a form of coercion (like asking for repayment) can be universally applied without compromising the freedom of everyone involved, including the debtor.

Kant compares this idea to constructing concepts in mathematics, where the properties of objects are discovered by constructing them. Similarly, the concept of "Right" is not just about having a concept but constructing it with fully reciprocal and equal coercion under a universal law.

In simpler terms, "strict right" for Kant is about having clear external rules that apply to everyone without getting mixed up with personal feelings or ethical beliefs, ensuring that actions can be universally and fairly constrained without infringing on anyone's freedom.

kant - public right

• Definition: The sum of laws that must be universally promulgated to establish a rightful condition.

• Additional Information: Public Right is a system of laws applicable to a people or a multitude of peoples who, due to their interactions, require a rightful condition under a unifying will or constitution.

Civil Condition (Status Civilis):

• Definition: The condition of individuals within a people in relation to one another.

• Additional Information: It pertains to the legal and social standing of individuals within a community.

State (Civitas):

• Definition: The entirety of individuals in a rightful condition in relation to its own members.

• Additional Information: A state is formed by individuals united through their common interest in maintaining a rightful condition.

Commonwealth (Respublica):

• Definition: A state, characterized by the form of government where all members are united through their common interest in being in a rightful condition.

• Additional Information: The term "commonwealth" is used in a broader sense to refer to a state.

Power (Potentia):

• Definition: In relation to other peoples, a state is referred to simply as a power (potentia).

• Additional Information: This term is connected to the idea of a potentate, indicating the state's authority.

Nation (Gens):

• Definition: A state is also called a nation when the union of its members is presumed to be inherited.

• Additional Information: The term "nation" is used to describe a state based on the presumed inheritance of its union.

Right of Nations (Ius Gentium):

• Definition: Under the general concept of public Right, it refers not only to the Right of a state but also to a Right of nations.

• Additional Information: This term extends the concept of public Right to include the rights applicable to nations.

Cosmopolitan Right (Ius Cosmopoliticum):

• Definition: The Idea of a Right for all nations, arising from the principles of outer freedom limited by law.

• Additional Information: This term refers to the concept of a universal Right applicable to all nations, transcending individual state boundaries.

Legislative Authority:

• Kant emphasizes that the legislative authority, the power to make laws, must originate from the united will of the people. Since all right (law) proceeds from this united will, it cannot be wrongful to anyone as individuals are collectively deciding what is right for all. The general united will of the people is the only legitimate source of legislation.

Attributes of Citizens:

Citizens of a state, referred to as members of a civil society or state (societas civilis), possess certain inherent attributes:

• Lawful Freedom: Citizens obey no law other than that to which they have given consent.

• Civil Equality: Citizens recognize no moral superiority within the people that could bind them without reciprocal binding.

• Civil Independence: Citizens owe their existence and preservation to their own rights and powers within the commonwealth, not to the choice of another person in the society.

• Civil Personality: Citizens do not require representation by others concerning their rights.

Well-being of the State:

The well-being of a state, according to Kant, is not synonymous with the happiness of its citizens. Instead, it refers to the condition in which the constitution most fully adheres to principles of Right. This well-being is an obligation dictated by reason's categorical imperative, and it signifies a state's conformity to principles of justice rather than the personal happiness of its citizens.

china goes green - shapiro and lee - 3 dimensional enterprise

Corsive state led environmentalism 3 dimensional enterprise:
1. State led environmentalism materializem top-down with tools, techniques technlogy under the sensible goal / aim of protection .
2. State manages relation with society by incorporating non-state environmental interest while consolidating dominant position
3. state led environmental practise has non-environmental spillover effects; centralization of power and suppressing rights and participation

shapiro china goes green - what is the relation in China regarding means and ends in environmentalism and authoritarianism?

The author states that the used term authoriatarian environmentalism implies a means-end relation that suggest the authoriatarianism is the means to a noble end; environmentalism, but that currently, this relation is reversed. The environmentalism is the guise under which authoritarianism is legitimized. the means is environmentalism and the end is authoritarianism.

shapiro - what is the inherent contradiction in state led authoritrianism?

effectiveness of model is heavily dependant on non state inputs, broad consultation and supervision by the masses and similar practises to hold power in check; yet the authoritarian instinct is to go agaisnt transparancy and accountability.

shapiro - when is mutually agreed co-ercion possible?

THe state has to be open to criticism and dissent; responsive to (un) intended consequences of policies; adapt to changing conditions on earth

what are examples of PRC co-ercive policies?

Community level supervision (supervision by the masses), urban planning, media control

Which tactics are employed in both democratic and authoritarian regimes for environmentalism

displacement of local population (national parks in chile by patagonia, USA native americans, western mid china relocations)
quantative goal setting (co2 levels, 2 degree celcius)
redusing emission deforestation and degredation (indonesia palm trees)
structural adjsutment strategies (conditions from IMF that benefit western corporations and contribute to hegemony)

Beeson - Authoritarianism. Why does beeson expect increase of authoritarianism in ASEAN countries?

1. History is crucial and decides path dependant development; Western intrusion caused structural change in social order.

2. Expanding population impacts domestic politics and natural environment from ‘modernization’.

3. Despite pro-democratic rhetoric, ‘the west’ allowed strategic alliances with authoritarian regimes during the cold war in contest with USSR/Russia.

4. After the cold war the ‘asian miracle’ happened; in both democratic and authoritarian regimes, standard of living rose for many. This developmental model was based on powerful state intervention.

5. Democratization is seen as potential threat to economic development and administrational capacity.

6. Democratic states derive legitimacy from their ability to provide to some sense ‘the good life’. Authoritarian regimes do not have to meet this criterium (they can repress).

7. Population where 45% lives of less then 2 dollar a day, large part of population is dependant on environment and ‘renewable resources’ for basic needs.

8. Environmental decline threatens both renewable and non renewable resources.

9. Urbanization that happened on a large scale in ASEAN countries works as a potential catalyst for social upheaval.

10. When faced with environmental decline, social unrest in democracies could lead to crumbling of regim and the loss of ‘performance legitimacy’ that democracies lean on. Authoritarian states can respond with oppression and can, in a context where there is a competition for resources, prevail.

Beeson - observation about development of asean countries. What is Beesons critique of the expectation that many scholars amde about democrazation of asean countries?

Development of coutnries is path-dependant and ties in with local histories. Western scholars wrongfull predicted te call for liberalism in asean countries when those countries would develop and expected a call from the political elite. but middle class has often accepted authoritarian regimes from ‘pragmatism’ or ‘the asian miracle’.

public reason - rawls

the idea that the principles of justice and the basic structure of society should be justifiable to all reasonable citizens, regardless of their comprehensive doctrines (philosophical, moral, or religious beliefs).

Doctrine of Right:

• Sum of laws for which external lawgiving is possible.

What Is Right?

• Challenge similar to "what is truth?" for the jurist.

• Not just what laws say (quid sit iuris), but whether it is morally right.

• Universal criterion for distinguishing right and wrong.

• Empirical doctrine of Right without reasoning is like a beautiful head without a brain.

Concept of Right:

• Related to an obligation corresponding to the moral concept of Right.

• External and practical relation between individuals.

• Signifies the relation to the other's choice, not mere wishes.

• Reciprocal relation of choice without consideration of the matter of choice.

• Right is the conditions under which the choice of one can be united with the choice of another according to a universal law of freedom.

Principle of Right:

• An action is right if it can coexist with everyone's freedom according to universal law.

• Hinderance to this freedom is considered wrong.

• The principle does not require making it one's own maxim; it's a demand from ethics.

Right and Coercion - kant

• Right is connected with an authorization to use coercion.

• Coercion opposing hindrance to freedom is consistent with universal laws and is considered right.

• Coercion is authorized against those who infringe upon Right.

Strict Right and Reciprocal Use of Coercion:

• Strict Right requires only external grounds for determining choice.

• It is not mixed with ethical considerations.

• It is based on the possibility of using external constraint consistent with universal laws.

• Right and authorization to use coercion are synonymous.

• The law of reciprocal coercion is the construction of the concept of Right.

democratic iterations

By democratic iterations I mean complex processes of public argument, deliberation, and exchange through which universalist rights claims and principles are contested and contextualized, invoked and revoked, posited and positioned, throughout legal and political institutions, as well as in the associations of civil society. These can take place in the “strong” public bodies of legislatives, the judiciary, and the executive, as well as in the informal and “weak” publics of civil society associations and the media

Democratic iterations

Democratic iterations are such linguistic, legal, cultural, and political repetitions-in-transformation, invocations which are also revocations. They not only change established understandings but also transform what passes as the valid or established view of an authoritative precedent.

Jurisgenerative politics

iterative acts through which a democratic people that considers itself bound by certain guiding norms and principles reappropriates and reinterprets these, thus showing itself to be not only the subject but also the author of the laws

State of Nature and Escape: A Comparison (Kant, Hobbes, Locke) - Hobbes

State of Nature:

• Description: "Nasty, brutish, and short."

• Characteristics:

  • Human life without governance is chaotic and violent.

  • No inherent moral order or cooperation.

  • Self-interest drives individuals to conflict.

Escape:

• Social Contract:

  • Individuals surrender freedoms to a sovereign authority.

  • Centralized power maintains order and prevents anarchy.

  • Absolute monarchy is justified for effective control.

State of Nature and Escape: A Comparison (Kant, Hobbes, Locke) - Locke

ohn Locke:

State of Nature:

• Description: "Inconveniences."

• Characteristics:

  • Fundamental equality and natural rights (life, liberty, property).

  • Potential for conflicts but a basis for cooperation.

  • Individual's right to punish transgressors.

Escape:

• Social Contract:

  • Formation of political societies based on mutual agreement.

  • Governments exist to protect natural rights.

  • Consent and right to revolution against oppressive rule.

State of Nature and Escape: A Comparison (Kant, Hobbes, Locke) - Kant

mmanuel Kant:

State of Nature:

• Description: Ambiguous, less detailed.

• Characteristics:

  • Emphasis on moral autonomy and rationality.

  • Individuals guided by a sense of duty.

  • Inherent moral principles but potential for moral conflict.

Escape:

• Moral and Legal Framework:

  • Emphasis on moral duties derived from reason.

  • Ethical principles as the foundation of a just society.

  • Governance based on a constitutional framework reflecting universal moral laws.

Co-ercive state led environmentalism - 3 dimential enterprise

1. Top down directives with tools, techniques, technology for sensible goal of protection
   2. state manages relation with society by incorparting non-state environmental interests while consolidating dominant position
   3. non environmental spill over effects centralization of power and suppressing rights and participation

when is mutually agreed co-ercison possible?

state has to be open to criticism, dissent, responsive to (un)intended consequences of policies, adapt to changing conditions of earth

what are some of China’s sate led environmental corcion techniques

community led supervision, urban planning and media control

tactics employed in authoritarian and democratic states to combat climate change

displacement of people (usa national parks)
quantative goal setting
reducing emissions by halting deforestation (pategonia)
structural adjustment packages (IMF conditional loans)

principles - kant

Freedom of citizens
Equality of each and to eachother
Independence of each individual in the Commonwealth

public reason by rawls (in general & in democratic society)

reason of citizens as such; reason of the public; subject = good of the public and fundamentals of justice & reason of equal citizens who as a collective body excersize final and co-ercive power over another by enacting laws and amending constitutions

rawls - reasoning

judgement, principles of interference, weighing of evidence

justice = political (rawls) - public reason

1. framed to apply basic structure of society (political, social and economic institutions) as unified scheme of coorporation.
   2. framed outside comprehensive doctrines
   3. eloborated in poltical ideas implicit to political cilture

what are the constitutional essentials (rawls).

a) fundamental principles governing general structure governing political process (jurisdictional, executive, political)
b) equal rights & liberties of all citizens (free thought, basic freedoms, social-economic equality).

rawls - II principles in TJ

1. Equal assignment of asic rights and fair value of political liberties

2. a. equality of opportunity
   b. according to difference principle

estlund - limitations

proof only on philosophical level

estlund authority vs legitimacy

authority: moral power of agent to morally (not) require from others through command
legitimacy moral permissibility issuing & reinforcing it’s command owing through process which they can be abused

estlund expert/boss falicy

authority of expert derives from consent . problem; not everyone is in agreement & truth about justification is that everyone must be in acceptance of the qualified pov, even incorrect ones

objection from truth lovers - estlud

(if a == (unjust) {moral truth exists}. there is moral truth and therefor ‘good’ or ‘bad’ political decision. however not is in agreement.

estalnd - objection to procedural justice + defense of democratic process?

rocedural justice demands equal and fair process regardless of outcome. why not flip coin? bc democratic process also 1. yields epistemic value + 2. produces moral reasons to obey law + 3. gives moral permission to enforce law.

what is epistemic proceduralism?

view that epistemic / cognitive qualities or virtues contribute to reliability of process

estlud problem with consent + how to get it accordig to estlund

no consent can be given without knowledge or under duress. but non-consent nullfied == consent. morally obliged may not give permission to coercion but does establish normative consent. this make wa for commitment to obedience and establishes authority. democratic neutrality has epistemic value. creates substantive just laws and makes subject morally obliged to accept authority.

what is estlunds problem with Condorcet Jury theorum?

1. politics are nonbinary

2. with p = 51% on binary choice, increase in choices makes p smaller with each extra option.

3. People have systematially wrong views (lippman). if democracy makes ‘just’ choices it is because of virtue of participants not bc contract.

what is estlunds problem with contractualism (rawls)

1. veto power is not democratic; might be good but impractical and bad to get rid of it for minority

how to strenghten epistemic proceduralism?

outcomes do not have to be ‘true’ (as in correct) but there is value in the epistemic / cognitive virtues. we can strenghten these virtues by countervailling ideation; deliberation produces higher epistemic accuracy, and removing blocks can improve accuracy. (time, power, common good, no self interest, ability to judge arguments). if ideal condition can not be met, ‘introduce counterforce. Wealth imbalance demands creative political practise, minority voices going unheard can legitimise public dissent or debate