Conservative Critique of Liberal Political Obligations

By Daniel Pitt

In this book, I argue that contractual views of political obligation, such as the Lockean view, and those which would place obligation in explicit consent are inadequate at explaining one's obligations to one's country, as they presuppose legitimacy and cannot found it. Moreover, I reject the minimalist accounts, such as the Nozickian and the anarchist views. I argue that the just institutions theories of political obligation are either over-inclusive or under-inclusive, in other words, they either create obligations on other nationals who have no ties to the country, or do not tie the whole population to one's own country. It seems that an associative account of political obligations based on our associative obligations to our co-nationals and to our country arising through our existential and historical ties within a given place, is a more plausible and fuller answer to meet the particularity requirement, than the other accounts of political obligation. This is because national identity captures the connection between political obligation and the special allegiances and duties that one associates with membership of one's own country, which, I suggest, is the purpose of accounts of political obligation.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0CPN3FRYT
• ISBN13: 9798870731698
• Release Date: December 2023
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 94 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.4" x 6.0"