Kant: Political Writings

Kant's standing as a political thinker has been substantially enhanced in the English-speaking world since this volume went to the printers just over two decades ago. More and more scholars are willing to rank him among the leading figures in the history of political thought. John Rawls's important and much discussed treatise A Theory of Justice is indebted to him, and that has certainly made an impact. (Even legal historians and jurists have taken note of his writings, but to discuss their findings would go beyond the scope of this edition.) The secondary literature on his political thought has grown appreciably, and not only in Germany where research on Kant flourishes as always. Yet much of this writing, perhaps inevitably, covers well-tilled ground; there has been no revolution in the interpretation of Kant's political thought. Nevertheless, in view of this growing interest, it is perhaps justifiable not only to raise some new issues but also to elaborate some of the features which were mentioned only briefly, or merely alluded to, in my original introduction. Some of the following remarks are of a general nature, and others refer to specific issues. For ease of reference, they are grouped under the following headings: ‘the nature of rational discourse in polities’; “the nature of mature political judgement”; ‘property as the basis of the legal order’; ‘morality and polities’; ‘the republican constitution: representation and the separation of powers’; ‘Kant and the French Revolution’; ‘Kant's rejection of the right of rebellion’; ‘the rejection of the right of rebellion and twentieth-century totalitarianism’; ‘the limits of obedience to goverment’; ‘the Prussian context’; and ‘Kant's argument against world government’.

THE NATURE OF RATIONAL DISCOURSE IN POLITICS

To tackle the more general issues first: Hans Saner, in his challenging, and, on the whole, well-received study Kants Weg vom Krieg zum Frieden. Widerstreit und Einheit. Wege zu Kants politischem Denken (which has been translated into English with the somewhat misleading title Kant's Political Thought. Its Origins and Development), has argued that Kant's metaphors indicate a profound interest in politics from the very beginnings of his academic career; he points out that, from 1755 onwards, Kant continuously uses images of war and peace in his writings. Saner overstates a good case; for metaphors have to be interpreted with much care.