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HowardWilliams
INDEPENDENCEASAKEYCONCEPTINKANT’S
POLITICALPHILOSOPHY
HereIshallattempttoshowhowKant’sdiscussionofindependence,andthecontrastit
affordswithHobbes’sviewofthesubjectinsociety,bringstolightsomeofthemost
novelandsignificantaspectsofKant’spoliticaltheory.JustasHobbes’sthinkingrepre-
sentedanegativechallengetoKantindevelopinghisownunderstandingofmodernciti-
zenshipsoRousseau’spoliticalphilosophyrepresentedapositivechallenge.
1ForKant
Hobbeswantedtoolittlepublicparticipationintheformationoflawsandstatepolicy,
whereaswithRousseauKantbelievedthedemandforparticipationandpopularsover-
eigntywenttoofar.IfanythingKantismoresympathetictoRousseau’sdemandsforpub-
licinvolvementandcontrol,ascanbeseenbytheextenttowhichKantattemptstointe-
gratetheideaofthegeneralwillintohispoliticalphilosophy,butKantbaulksattheno-
tionofanabsolutelyauthoritativegeneralwillcommandingthesocietyfromthebottom
up.ThepeopleshouldforKantseethemselvesasplayingapartintheformationofthe
overalldirectionoftheirsocietybuttheycannotseethemselves(assomereadingsof
Rousseau’spoliticalphilosophymightimply)asalwayshavingthelastsay.Kantisdrawn
stronglytoRousseau’sunderstandingofthesocialcontractbuthedoesnotdiscarden-
tirelyHobbes’saccountoftheemergenceofthesocialcovenant.
2
Theauthorityofthesocietyasawholehastobeembodiedintheofficeofaruler
whoseinstructionscannotberesisted.CitizenshipforKantinvolvesareciprocalrelation-
shipbetweenauthorityandfreedom.Freedomimpliesthepossibilityofcoercionbutitis
acoercionthatwerespectasemanatingfromourownwills.Humanbeingscannotrule
1ForRousseau’sprofoundimpactonKantsee:A.Gulyga,ImmanuelKant,Frankfurt:
Suhrkamp,1985,pp.58–59;p.83;p.102andS.M.Shell,TheRightsofReason:AStudyofKant’s
PhilosophyandPolitics,Toronto:UniversityofTorontoPress,1980,pp.20–32.
2Kant’spositiveappreciationofthisaspectofHobbes’spoliticalphilosophycanbefoundin
theCritiqueofPureReasonA752/B780whereKantcomparestheroleofhisCritiqueinbringing
anendtodisputeinphilosophywithHobbes’sviewoftheterminationintheconditionofwar
broughtaboutbythesocialcovenant.Aninterestingaccountoftheuseofpoliticalmetaphorinthe
CritiqueofPureReasonisgivenbyOnoraO’Neillin“ReasonandPoliticsintheKantianEnter-
prise”in:ConstructionsofReason:ExplorationsofKant’sPracticalPhilosophy,Cambridge:
CambridgeUniversityPress,1989,pp.3–27.
