After Making The Case For Philosophical Anarchism – That

In the event that the government turns out to be tyrannical, the people have the power and the right to overthrow it and bring appropriate changes for the good of all. However, this change has to be instituted rationally (Riley, 1990).

What makes a political authority legitimate? A legitimate political authority, in this essay, will be taken to mean that there is a justification for an individual or a body to have power over other people in determining such things as laws and protection of freedom. To consider this question, three theories shall be looked at – Hobbes’, Rousseau and finally Locke and determine which gives the most persuasive account of legitimate political authority. To begin with, their hypothetical starting point, the state of nature, shall be discussed to establish the foundations of their political authority. Secondly, the reasons that shall lead man to get out of the state of nature will be examined in order to see if these logically follow on from

The dystopic novel Anthem written by Ayn Rand, published in 1937 and later an American version was released in 1946, offers a perspective on a life that is completely controlled by the government. They offer the population of the area a “freedom”. That “freedom” is actually a false sense of happiness, purpose, and security. However, what if the totalitarianism like government in Anthem is a way to have a stable and effective government? In Anthem by Ayn Rand, the bureaucracy is portrayed as cowardly, controlling, and inefficient; however, the totalitarian government, as it stands in this novel, is actually quite stable, and effective.

When observing the government of this nation, there is one undeniable truth: the government’s primary purpose is for the safety and maintenance of its people. According to Morris I. Leibman in his article “Civil Disobedience: A Threat to Our Law Society”, the demand for equality cannot be converted into a fight for superiority. We must all learn to be equal under the law, and in order for this equality to reach its acme, we must learn to accept the policies that our government sets before us. In fact, as stated by

As a society, we often feel we are free. But are we? What is this freedom we think we have? Gardner shows us that the government's main objective is to "satisfy the greed of the majority, the rest will do you no harm. That's it. You've still got your fiction of consent (Gardner, 118)". And if things go wrong, the government's immediate reaction is to use force to gain their objective.

Wolff (1970) defines a state as a group of persons who have the right to exercise supreme authority within a territory, over a population. He proposes In the Defense of Anarchism, men are autonomous, as higher degrees of autonomy is achieved, a man will resist the claim that states have authority over him. This illustrates the puzzle of Political obligation and can be explained through the appeal to consent.

Jury nullification is when a jury acquits a defendant who it believes is guilty of the crime he is charged (Hickey, 2010. p. 370). This is because the jury chose to ignore the facts of the case and the judge instructions, and based his or her decision on personal opinion. If we are going to allow jury nullification we may as well not take up the tax-payer’s money to even take it to trial. Nullification – The act of making a law null and void (nullifying). For example, during prohibition, many juries found defendants innocent, even when the state had proven its case, because they did not think the law should exist. State legislatures also have nullified federal laws within their borders, creating a nullification crisis for the federal

In Anthem and Julius Caesar, it is shown that authoritarianism ruins the control a government system or leader needs to successfully run a society. “And if the Councils had decreed that you should be a Street Sweeper, how dared you think that you could be of greater use to men than in sweeping the streets?” (Anthem by Ayn Rand pages 71-72) The apparent government system in Anthem would be the Council. They enforce many things that restrict each persons’ own freedom to do things or even think things for themselves. This quote shows that the government chooses the job each person will be responsible for. Equality is a Street Sweeper and when he decides to think for himself and discover the lightbulb, the Council immediately shuts down his ideas with massive

Avoiding the truth is a task our society should choose, only limited to certain situations. Acceptable situations to withhold the truth include refraining from harming one's feelings. In “It’s the Truth: Americans Conflicted About Lying”, an article by NBCNEWS.com, the author conveys that lying can be a worthy obligation when

Government is an administration defined by the Constitution, but is also a constantly adjusting foundation by the efforts of its citizens. By Litherland (2014), government is defined as policies set in order to lead a body of people (p. 395). Over the span of time, the idea of government has been stretched, changed, and applied to various communities throughout both the nation and the world. Whether it was back in the eighteenth century, current, or in the very near future—government has existed and will continue to exist for its people and the nation it has built its foundation upon. With the use of multiple authors, those of: “Difference between Direct and Representative Democracy” (n.d.), “Federalism - Dividing Power between States and the

This relationship between the individual and society is later recognized as the bureaucratic machine (centralized government) that these Anarchists fight against. The Anarresian people can not refuse a posting (order by PDC) because they are ashamed. The social conscience completely dominates the individual conscience, in stead of striking a balance. "We don't cooperate--we obey. We fear being outcast, being called lazy, dysfunctional, eoizing," as Shevek once pointed out, "We fear our neighbors opinion more than we respect our own freedom." Because this was part of there thinking the Anaressian people could not see these laws, laws of conventional behavior

Philosophers have struggled with determining the proper role of government. In the absence of government and laws, people could do whatever they wanted, and some of them would try to slaughter others and steal their property. This is the state called anarchy. People have realized that the safety of the people and the country would be in jeopardy in such a state. Thus, it is necessary for a country to have a government and/or ruler. However, a ruler must not have absolute power nor lack authority. But the protection of the people and the country alone is not enough for a country to prosper. The property and the natural rights of the people and the government must also be protected. Thus, the proper role of government is to protect the

For all of history there has existed the struggle between the strong and the weak. The establishment of government gives the power to a particular group to decide the amount of freedom the majority is allowed, however, though not ideal it provides necessary order. The benefits of security that limitations on freedom provides must be balanced with the individual's pursuit of happiness for citizens to be content. To prevent the governed majority from destabilizing the rulers and seeking power, the government will oppress political and personal freedom of thought. In result, the majority will live under the illusion of contentment and not wish to revolt; those enlightened to the idea that the government should be ruled by the governed, would associate happiness only with ignorance and consequently seek freedom.

What is the anarchist challenge? Anarchism is defined as “a theory of society without any established authority” at any level, a state where man has absolute freedom and his autonomy assured. The anarchist challenge is clearly put by Wolff “The defining mark of the state is authority, the right to rule. The primary obligation of man is autonomy, the refusal to be ruled. It would seem, then, that there can be no resolution of the conflict between the autonomy of the individual and the putative authority of the state. (1970 p10). If man agrees to be part of a state, the anarchist argues that their freedom to be autonomous is undermined. In any form of government, autonomy and authority are simply mismatched. Authority is “the right to command, and correlatively, the right to be obeyed” (Woolfe 1970 p. 4), If we accept the authority of the state, then we are accepting that we do not have rights of freedom and are therefore giving up our independence. The anarchist will not conform to the authority of government nor recognise the state. Can the social contract as devised by either Thomas Hobbes or John Locke provide the answer. I would argue that neither Hobbes nor Locke, provide a complete answer, but Locke is closest. Hobbes advocates a dictator or Leviathan to control the state and ensure laws. Locke recognises that man is entitled to freedom but needs a sovereign power to ensure that there are no violations of man’s property by another. However, he argues that absolute

As anarchy is one of the most debated cases in the International Relations study, many philosopher and scientist argue about the word ‘Anarchy’. In Wendt’s journal “Anarchy is what states make of it”, Alexander Wendt conveys that anarchy does not by chance lead to a self-help system (Wendt A. , 1992). The term anarchy comes from the Greek, 'anarchia', which means 'absence of authority'. Generally, we can define Anarchy as the condition where there is no sovereignty, the rules that disappeared because of the absence of authority. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines the word anarchy as ‘a situation in which there is no organization and control, especially in society, because there is no effective government’. George C. Lewis states that “Anarchy is one of the vaguest and ambiguous words in language” .