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INDEPENDENCEASAKEYCONCEPTINKANT’SPOLITICALPHILOSOPHY
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thelawsunanimously.Thisishowthoselawsshouldbeseenfromthestand-
pointoftheirinterpretationandimplementation.Butmany,ofcourse,arepas-
sivecitizens(likewomenandchildren)whoenjoytheprotectionofthelawbut
donotmakeit.Alsoitmustproveimpossibleforunanimitytobeachievedon
allissues.“Anentirepeoplecannot,however,beexpectedtoreachunanimity,
butonlytoshowamajorityofvotesandnotevenofdirectvotes,but(inalarge
nation)simplythevotesofthosedelegatedtodosoastherepresentativesofthe
people.”
5Inprinciplethepeopleasawholeissovereign,butonadaytoday
basisarepresentativesovereignbodythatformsthelegislaturecarriesouttheir
task.Thesovereigntyofthepeopleasawholeisre-affirmedfromtimetotime
whentheindependentcitizenselectthelegislatorswhoaretorepresentthem.
Everyindividualwithinacommonwealthcanberegardedasaprotected
partner,freeandequalunderthecurrentpubliclaw.Butonlythosewhoplay
apartinlegislation,eitherdirectlyorthroughelectingtheirrepresentativesmay
beregardedasindependent.ForKanttherighttovoteisdeterminedbyaprop-
ertyqualification.Eachindividualisonlyallowedonevotenomatterhowlarge
hisorherproperty.“Inthisrespect,craftsmenandlargeorsmalllandownersare
allequal,eachisentitledtoonevoteonly.”
6Kantbypropertyinthisinstance
means,aswehaveseen,neithersimplyatractoflandnorfixedgoodsand
moneyofanykind.Whathehasinmindisthecapacitytoregardoneselfinthe
eyesofothersasone’sownmaster.Youcanregardyourselfasyourownmaster
ifyouservenooneotherthanyourselfinyouroccupationorcalling.Kanthas
agreatdealofdifficultyindeterminingwhopreciselycanberegardedasinde-
pendentintheiroccupationbuttheprinciplehewantstoputforwardisasignifi-
cantone.Hewantstosuggestthatthosewhoshapethelawsofasocietyshould
bebeholdentonooneelseotherthanthemselves.Inhavingcontrolovertheir
ownlivelihoodsandenjoyingalevelofprosperitytheyowetotheirownindus-
tryeachisinapositionsociallytothinkandactforhimself.WhatKantislook-
ingforisanelementofmaturityandstandinginthepersonconcernedwhichis
largelyofhisownmaking.Notwithstandingthedifficultiesinestablishingem-
piricallywhocanbecountedaspartofKant’sindependentcitizenry(andthe
obviousanachronismthatwomenareexcluded)Kant’sgoalisanadmirableone.
Everyonewhomakesthelawsinasociety,andideallyallthosewhoselectthe
lawmakersshouldbefreeofexternalpolitical,economicandsocialpressure.
KantupholdspopularsovereigntyinthespiritofRousseauandinthefaceof
Hobbes’scentralisedandconcentratedsovereignbody.Eachindividualmust
agreewithallotherstosubjectthemselvestoacommonauthoritythatmakes
possibletheirfreedom.Thissovereignmustbeconceivedasbeingincapableof
doinganyoneanyharmthroughitsenforcementoflaw.Thisisbecauseitssov-
ereignpoweremanatesfromthewillofeveryindividual,andnoindividualwills
harmtohimself.AsKantputsit,“allrightdependsuponlaws.Apubliclaw
however,whichdefinesforeveryonethatwhichispermittedandpermittedby
5Kant,WerkeVIII,p.296;Kant’sPoliticalWritings,p.79.
6Kant,WerkeVIII,p.296;Kant’sPoliticalWritings,p.78.
