Republican Freedom in Choice, Person and Society

https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197754115.013.9

31 Pages Posted: 15 Jan 2025

See all articles by Philip N. Pettit

Philip N. Pettit

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

Date Written: January 23, 2024

Abstract

By a characteristically republican account, a person is free in the exercise of a choice to the extent that no one else has the power, even the unexercised power, of interfering in that choice. The account
makes good analytical sense, as rival accounts may also do, but its appeal primarily consists in its rich implications for the freedom of persons and the society as a whole. If people are to be equally free in
this sense—if they are to enjoy equal freedom as non-domination—then the law must identify the basic liberties or choices of each and provide each with security against the domination of others in the
exercise of those choices; by a traditional metric, it must enable citizens to be free persons, able to look one another in the eye without reason for fear of deference. But if they and their society are to count as free, republican freedom must also guard citizens against domination by those who make and impose law. Those in power must be constrained to make public decisions under a system of electoral and other controls that are sustained or applied by ordinary citizens, rather than enjoying discretionary or arbitrary power; intuitively, they must rule on the people’s terms.

Keywords: freedom, non-domination, choice, person, society, republicanism

Suggested Citation

Pettit, Philip N., Republican Freedom in Choice, Person and Society (January 23, 2024). https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197754115.013.9

, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5043079 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5043079

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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