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INDEPENDENCEASAKEYCONCEPTINKANT’SPOLITICALPHILOSOPHY
37
asincompatiblewithfraternity,ratherthecitizen’sindependenceleadstoanon-
contractuallinkwithcitizensofothercountrieswhoaresimilarlyindependent.
Theindependentcitizenisthestartingpointforthecosmopolitanoutlook.An
independentcitizenmakeshisownlawsthroughhisrepresentativesandthis
sharedresponsibilitybringstogetherallindependentcitizensthroughoutthe
world.
RESISTANCEANDPUBLICITY
Kant’srejectionofresistancetothesovereign,whichwehavealreadytouched
upon,mustbeunderstoodinthecontextofhisconceptofindependence.Like
Hobbes,Kantaltogetherrulesouttherightfulnessofresistingthesovereign’swill.
“Allresistanceagainstthesupremelegislativepower,allincitementofthesub-
jectstoviolentexpressionsofdiscontent,alldefiancewhichbreaksoutintorebel-
lion,isthegreatestandmostpunishablecrimeinacommonwealth,foritdestroys
itsveryfoundations.Thisprohibitionisabsolute.”
24Weshouldnotevencontem-
plateviolentoppositionwhereweassubjectsjudgethatthelegislativepoweroran
agentwhoactswithitsauthoritybehavesinatyrannicalway.“Thereasonforthis
isthatthepeople,underanalreadyexistingcivilconstitution,nolongerhas
acontinuousrightofjudgementabouthowtheconstitutionshouldbeadminis-
tered.”
25Underanexistingcivilconstitutionthesovereignisalreadytheunited
willofthepeople,soanyactsofpolicywhichstepbeyondjusticehavetobere-
gardedaserrorsofjudgementonthepartofthelegislatorsandtheiragents.The
legislators,becausetheyactwiththepeople’sauthority,cannotberegardedas
whollyunjustorbeyondimprovement.Theyhavemisplacedtheirauthorityrather
thanpermanentlydisqualifiedthemselvesfromholdingit.
Kant’snotionofindependenceleadstoanewviewofsovereignty.Herules
outresistancebecauseitwouldrepresentresistancetoourselvesasco-legislators
whobringthecommonwealthintobeing.Weunderstandthesovereigntobe
createdbyanoriginalcontractwhichmakesindependentcitizensintoco-le-
gislators.Althoughwearenotallinfactco-legislatorsweregardthosewho
legislateasourrepresentativeswhobehaveinaccordancewiththeunitedwillof
thepeople.Thus,althoughinfactwemaynotbedirectparticipantsintheexer-
ciseofsovereignauthority,weshouldregarditalwaysasthoughwewereso
andthereforeareunabletoresistit.Itisthisparticipatoryelementineffective
sovereigntythatleadsKanttoruleoutresistancetoitandnotmerelyfearofthe
sovereign’slossofauthority.
Kantacknowledgesthatoneoftheconsequencesofhisdoctrineisthat
monarchsunderexistingcivilconstitutionscanberegardedasinviolable.He
24Kant,WerkeVIII,p.299;Kant’sPoliticalWritings,p.81.
25Ibidem.
