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HowardWilliams
themselvesdirectly.Theyneedaconstitutedauthoritytoholdthemincheck.Butal-
thoughtheycannotdirectlyrulethemselves,humanbeingscanneverthelesssanctionthe
authoritythatgovernsthembyplayingapartincreatingtherulesunderwhichthat
authorityfunctionsandiseffective.Asweshallsee,inoutlininghisnotionofindepend-
enceKantpresentsthemeansbywhichthepopulardimensioninsovereignty,sostrongly
pressedbyRousseau,isincorporatedintohisrepublicanaccountofthestate.
SOVEREIGNTYANDINDEPENDENCE
Kantmusthavethoughthardbeforemakingindependenceintohisthirdkey
politicalprincipleintheessayOntheCommonSaying:ThismaybetrueinThe-
orybutitdoesnotapplyinPractice(1793)whereheconfrontsHobbes’spoliti-
calphilosophy.ThefamousmottooftheFrenchRevolution:“Liberty,equality,
andfraternity”mustsurelyhavebeenringinginKant’searsasheworkedonthe
essay.Buthenonethelessdecidedtodepartfromthecelebratedmottointhe
finalinstancebysubstituting“Independence”for“Fraternity”.Kantevidently
wantedtosetsomedistancebetweenhimselfandtheuncriticalenthusiastsfor
theeventsinFrance.Significantlyalsothestressontheprincipleofindepend-
encesetsKantapartfromtheEnglishphilosopher.Hobbesdoesnotsubscribeto
theideaofanindependentcitizenryinhispoliticalwritings.Independencemay
havebeenanappropriatepathforamonarchandsovereignsingeneral,and
Hobbesmaywellalsohaverecommendedindependenceforstates,butheseems
tohavebeenwhollyaversetohavingindependentcitizens,particularlyinthe
sensethatKantrecommends.WithHobbesthesocialcontractextinguishesboth
ournaturalandcivilindependencebecausehebelievesthatweareincapableof
employingthatindependencewisely.TheLeviathandemandsobedientsubjects
andnotactivecitizens.
Kanttakesadifferentview.Hearguesthatthesocialcontractinstitutesfor
thefirsttimetheindependenceofcitizens.WithKantcitizenshipshouldbethe
legitimateaimofallmalesubjectsofacivilsociety.Noteveryoneisqualifiedto
becomeanindependentcitizen(Kantrulesoutautomaticallyallwomenand
minors),butnoadultmalecanberuledoutfromattainingtheappropriatequali-
fication.
3Thequalificationisprimarilyaneconomicone.Thepersonconcerned
shouldbehisownmasterandthereforenotowehislivingtoanyoneelse.For
Kantthecitizen’sindependenceconsistsprimarilynotsimplyinarightbutalso
inaduty.Thisrightanddutyistheresponsibilityformakingthelawswithfel-
low-citizens.“Theindependence(sibisufficienta)ofamemberofthecommon-
wealthasacitizen,i.e.asaco-legislator.”
4Whatmarksourindependencefor
Kantisourparticipationintheexerciseofsovereignpowerthroughtheshaping
oflaws.Kantdoesenvisagethatinprincipleallthequalifiedcitizenswillmake
3Cf.W.Kersting,WohlgeordneteFreiheit,FrankfurtamMain:Suhrkamp,1993,pp.381–383.
4Kant,WerkeVIII,p.294;Kant’sPoliticalWritings,H.Reiss(ed.),p.77.
