Wolff political authority vs. personal autonomy

The state

An entity which (is purported to have) supreme authority within a given territory/over a certain population

Anarchism

political theory advocating abolition of government/institutions of political authority and the organization of society on a voluntary and cooperative basis

Authority

right to command and the corresponding right to be obeyed

Power

ability to make someone do something one wants them to do

Personal autonomy

Autonomy = capacity to freely act in accordance with one’s own informed, uncoerced decisions • This entails that we must take ownership for our own actions and decisions, because we alone would be responsible for our own actions.

De jure authority

Power that exists legally, according to the law.(about what the law says should be.) Wolff argues that the state has no de jure authority over us, only the authority that we allow them to have over us.

De facto authority 

The power that exists in practice or reality, regardless of legality. (is about what is actually happening)

Why the state can’t have legitimate (de jure) authority over us

If we’re autonomous and self-legislating, then the state cannot have legitimate/legal authority over us. Logically speaking, we cannot have an equally moral duty to ourselves and an authoritative figure, if we did, then we wouldn’t be fully autonomous. Just because we obey the state, doesn’t mean that it’s legitimate. We obey simply because we believe we should, not because we need to.