Overview

This book analyses the so-called moral problem of authority, which is the challenge of reconciling legitimate authority (the right to rule) with the demands of freedom and rationality. It offers a critique of authority sceptics, both anarchist and non-anarchist, who insist that authority can never have legitimacy. It also points to problems with many conventional defences of authority, including those of deliberative democracy, which assume that insofar as authority is legitimate it simply satisfies the demands of freedom or rationality. In this book, through a close engagement with the work of Joseph Raz in particular, it is argued that authority can have legitimacy, but when it does it generates a moral dilemma, where the obligation to obey comes at some cost to freedom and reason.

Full Product Details

Author:   Allyn Fives
Publisher:   Manchester University Press
Imprint:   Manchester University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.494kg
ISBN:  

9781526193094

ISBN 10:   1526193094
Pages:   216
Publication Date:   12 May 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
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Table of Contents

Introduction: The problem of authority 1: The argument against authority 2: The service conception of authority 3: Authority and moral conflict 4: Authority and freedom 5: Voluntarism 6: Membership and the communitarian thesis 7: On the plural grounds of authority 8: Problems some deliberative democrats have with authority 9: Reasons and norms Conclusion: Soft authority and sincere excuses Bibliography -- .

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Author Information

Allyn Fives is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Galway.

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