REFLEXE
REFLEXE
Reflexe a journal of philosophy, was founded in 1985 by Ladislav Hejdánek. The first three issues, originaly published in the underground (samizdat) form, were re-issued legally in 1990. The journal then continued as a quarterly and later, in its present form, as a bi-annual. The focus is on original studies in the areas of Philosophy and Theology. While translations of important philosophical essays are also published, preference is given to new publications. Each issue includes reviews of recent philosophical literature from the Czech Republic and abroad.

REFLEXE, Vol 2020 No 58 (2020), 29–51

Legitimita politické moci a sebeporozumění občanů

[The Legitimacy of Political Power and the Citizens’ Understanding of Themselves]

Matej Cibík

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/25337637.2020.21
published online: 15. 09. 2020

abstract

The legitimacy of political regimes does not lie only in the manner in which these regimes use their power. A key role is played by the way these regimes are perceived by their populations. Following this insight, the paper defends and elaborates one necessary condition of legitimacy of every political regime: the justification of power provided by the regime must „make sense“ to the citizens. This „making sense“ can be best understood as a correspondence between the proposed justification of political authority and the citizens’ understanding of themselves. In other words, a political regime „makes sense“ to its population only if it resonates with their conception of themselves and their role in the society. The paper then analyses the possible correspondence between the Rawlsian conception of liberal self-understanding, where citizens view themselves as „self-authenticating sources of valid moral claims“, and the legitimacy of contemporary democratic societies. This perspective reveals the sources of deep egalitarian assumptions behind the legitimation frameworks of contemporary societies, as well as the necessary limitations of power of contemporary states. The correspondence between our self-understanding and the legitimacy of the present-day states also reveals the fundamental importance of the human rights framework in current political life.

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Legitimita politické moci a sebeporozumění občanů is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

202 x 130 mm
periodicity: 2 x per year
print price: 180 czk
ISSN: 0862-6901
E-ISSN: 2533-7637

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