According to republican theory, we are free persons to the extent that we are protected and secured in the same fundamental choices, on the same public basis, as one another. But there is no public protection or security without a coercive state. Does this mean that any freedom we enjoy is a superficial good that presupposes a deeper, political form of subjection? Philip Pettit addresses this crucial question in On the People's Terms. He argues that state coercion will not involve individual subjection or domination insofar as we enjoy an equally shared form of control over those in power. This claim may seem utopian but it is supported by a realistic model of the institutions that might establish such democratic control. Beginning with a fresh articulation of republican ideas, Pettit develops a highly original account of the rationale of democracy, breathing new life into democratic theory.
• A landmark text in democratic theory from one of the world's leading political philosophers • Offers both a theory of democracy and a clear model of the institutions that this theory might support • Of interest to students and scholars of philosophy, politics and law and all those with an interest in political philosophy in practice
Contents
Introduction: the republic, old and new; 1. Freedom as non-domination; 2. Social justice; 3. Political legitimacy; 4. Democratic influence; 5. Democratic control; Conclusion: the argument, in summary.
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