Moral Principles and Political ObligationsOutlining the major competing theories in the history of political and moral philosophy--from Locke and Hume through Hart, Rawls, and Nozick--John Simmons attempts to understand and solve the ancient problem of political obligation. Under what conditions and for what reasons (if any), he asks, are we morally bound to obey the law and support the political institutions of our countries? |
Contents
Obligations | 7 |
Iii Obligation and Duty | 11 |
Iiii Positional Duties and Moral Requirements | 16 |
Iiv Prima Facie Requirements | 24 |
The Problem of Political Obligation | 29 |
IIii Political Obligation and Political Language | 38 |
IIiii Utilitarianism and Political Obligation | 45 |
IIiv The Standards of Success | 54 |
Vii Fair Play and Justice | 109 |
Viii Fair Play and Political Obligation | 114 |
Viv Nozicks Arguments | 118 |
Vv The Principle in Political Communities | 136 |
The Natural Duty of Justice | 143 |
VIii When Institutions Apply to Us | 147 |
VIiii Justice and Political Bonds | 152 |
Gratitude | 157 |
The Consent Tradition | 57 |
IIIii The Major Assumptions | 61 |
IIIiii Majority Consent | 71 |
The Argument from Tacit Consent | 75 |
IVii Tacit Consent | 79 |
IViii Locke and the Failure of Tacit Consent | 83 |
IViv Tacit Consent and Residence | 95 |
The Principle of Fair Play | 101 |
VIIii Debts of Gratitude | 163 |
VIIiii Gratitude as a Ground of Political Obligation | 183 |
Concluding Remarks | 191 |
VIIIii Political Obligation and Legitimacy | 195 |
NOTES | 202 |
| 219 | |
| 229 | |
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Common terms and phrases
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