Cover: Against Obligation: The Multiple Sources of Authority in a Liberal Democracy, from Harvard University PressCover: Against Obligation in HARDCOVER

Against Obligation

The Multiple Sources of Authority in a Liberal Democracy

Product Details

HARDCOVER

Print on Demand

$60.00 • £52.95 • €54.95

ISBN 9780674064416

Publication Date: 04/25/2012

Short

352 pages

6-1/8 x 9-1/4 inches

World

Add to Cart

Media Requests:

Related Subjects

  • Introduction
    • The Case against Fidelity to Law, for Citizens and for Officials
    • A Roadmap and Some Baselines for Discussion
    • The Multiple Sources of Citizens’ Obligations
    • The Relationship between Obligation and Legitimacy
  • 1. Against Political Obligation
    • Consent, Fair Play, and Political Participation
    • Natural Duty and Associative Obligation
    • Systemic Stability
  • 2. Accommodating Our Plural Obligations
    • Exiting from the Law
    • Permeable Sovereignty and the Religion Clauses
    • The Problem of Illiberal Groups
  • 3. Against Interpretive Obligation to the Past
    • The Authority of Constitutional Creators, and Readers
    • Debunking Prior Authority
    • The Proper Role of Fit in Constitutional Interpretation
    • Why My Jeffersonian Position Is neither Anti-Law nor Anti-Constitutionalism
  • 4. Against Interpretive Obligation to the Supreme Court
    • The Role of the Supreme Court in Settling Constitutional Issues
    • Interpretive Pluralism
    • Guidelines for Officials in Deciding Whether to Follow the Court
    • The Court’s Response to Interpretive Challenge
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Acknowledgments
  • Index

Recent News

Black lives matter. Black voices matter. A statement from HUP »

From Our Blog

Photograph of the book Fearless Women against red/white striped background

A Conversation with Elizabeth Cobbs about Fearless Women

For Women’s History Month, we are highlighting the work of Elizabeth Cobbs, whose new book Fearless Women shows how the movement for women’s rights has been deeply entwined with the history of the United States since its founding. Cobbs traces the lives of pathbreaking women who, inspired by American ideals, fought for the cause in their own ways…