Legitimacy and Justice in Republican Perspective

Current Legal Problems, Vol 65, 2012, 59-82

24 Pages Posted: 6 Dec 2015

See all articles by Philip N. Pettit

Philip N. Pettit

Princeton University; Australian National University (ANU) - Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS)

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

Let justice be a feature of the social order imposed by a state and legitimacy a feature of how it is imposed: one that makes the imposition acceptable. This paper argues that, so understood, legitimacy is quite a distinct concern from justice; that the core concern is with showing how state coercion is consistent with people’s being free citizens; that this does not require showing that the state exists by consensus or contract; that the best hope of satisfying the concern lies with arguing that state coercion need not be dominating; and that this is possible only within the republican theory that identifies freedom with the absence of domination, not interference.

Keywords: justice, legitimacy, Republicanism

Suggested Citation

Pettit, Philip N., Legitimacy and Justice in Republican Perspective (2012). Current Legal Problems, Vol 65, 2012, 59-82, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2699313

Philip N. Pettit (Contact Author)

Princeton University ( email )

305 Marx Hall
Princeton, NJ 08544-1012
United States
609-258-4759 (Phone)
609-258-1110 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.princeton.edu/~ppettit/

Australian National University (ANU) - Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS) ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia

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