Will And Political Legitimacy - A Critical Exposition Of Social Contract Theory In Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, And Hegel

At the heart of representative government is the question: "What makes government and its agents legitimate authorities?" The notion of consent to a social contract between the citizen and his government is central to this problem. What are the functions of public authority? What are the people's rights in a self-governing and representative state? Patrick Riley presents a comprehensive historical analysis of the meaning of contract theory and a testing of the inherent validity of the ideas of consent and obligation. He uncovers the critical relationship between the act of willing and that of consenting in self-government and shows how "will" relates to political legitimacy. His is the first large-scale study of social contract theory from Hobbes to Rawls that gives "will" the central place it occupies in contractarian thinking. How Coherent Is The Social Contract Tradition? -- Will And Legitimacy In The Philosophy Of Hobbes -- On Finding An Equilibrium Between Consent And Natural Law In Locke's Political Philosophy -- A Possible Explanation Of Rousseat's General Will -- On Kant As The Most Adequate Of The Social Contract Theorists -- Hegel On Consent And Social Contract Theory: Does He Cancel And Preserve The Will? -- Conclusion Patrick Riley. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Preface Contents 1 How Coherent Is the Social Contract Tradition? 2 Will and Legitimacy in the Philosophy of Hobbes 3 Finding an Equilibrium between Consent and Natural Law in Locke's Political Philosophy 4 A Possible Explanation of Rousseau's General Will 5 Kant as the Most Adequate of the Social Contract Theorists 6 Hegel on Consent and Social Contract Does He "Cancel and Preserve" the Theory: Will? 7 Conclusion Notes Index Biographical note: RileyPatrick: Patrick Riley is Oakeshott Professor of Political and Moral Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Madison