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Independence and property in Kant's Rechtslehre
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James, David Neil (2016) Independence and property in Kant's Rechtslehre. British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 24 (2). pp. 302-322. doi:10.1080/09608788.2015.1121134
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2015.1121134
Abstract
I argue that the freedom which is to coexist with the freedom of choice of others in accordance with a universal law mentioned in Kant's Rechtslehre is not itself freedom of choice. Rather, it is the independence which is a condition of being able to exercise genuine free choice by not having to act in accordance with the choices of others. Kant's distinction between active and passive citizenship appears, however, to undermine this idea of independence, because the possession of a certain type of property right on the part of some citizens makes it possible for them to dominate others. Kant's account of property in this way turns out to be central to the question as to whether his Rechtslehre represents an internally consistent account of how freedom can be guaranteed within a legal and political community. I go on to argue that Kant's attempt to justify a pre-political right of property cannot be viewed as a successful justification of private property, and that he should have abandoned the notion of such a right together with any presumption in favour of private property.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology J Political Science > JC Political theory J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Philosophy | ||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804, Autonomy (Philosophy), Liberty, Right of property, Citizenship | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | British Journal for the History of Philosophy | ||||||||
| Publisher: | Routledge | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 0960-8788 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | 13 January 2016 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Date of first compliant deposit: | 31 May 2016 | ||||||||
| Volume: | 24 | ||||||||
| Number: | 2 | ||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 302-322 | ||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1080/09608788.2015.1121134 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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