0:03
Let's think about the possible grounds of political obligation.
Remember, first that if the problem of political obligation is to be solved,
we need to find the ground for the obligation to obey the law.
One suggested ground for political obligation is gratitude or benefit.
This is one of the many solutions to the problem mentioned by
Socrates increase one of the Platonic dialogues.
According to the gratitude or benefit accounts of political obligation,
we're obliged to obey the state because of
the great benefits of the state has bestowed upon us.
By being benefited by the state,
citizens acquire the obligation to obey the law out of gratitude.
Let's call this the benefit theory of political obligation.
Namely, the claim that citizens are obliged to obey
the state because of the benefits that the state has bestowed upon them.
We can break this down into two separate claims.
First, the citizens are benefited by the state.
Second, that because they are benefited by
the state they acquire the obligation to obey it.
The first claim certainly seems plausible.
So, citizens typically are benefited by
the states in the form of the kinds of public goods that states provide.
They provide roads, defense,
fire police, and in most modern democratic states healthcare.
But when it comes to the second claim,
things were a little less clear.
It's not so clear that the fact that the state
benefits us means that we are obliged to obey it.
Partly, that's because it's unclear how to answer the following questions.
Question one, does being benefited always generate obligations?
Question two, does being benefited by something
generate obligations for you to obey the benefactor?
Let us address these questions in turn.
So, it first, does being benefited always generate obligations?
Is benefiting someone sufficient to generate an obligation?
His reason to think not,
suppose that unbeknownst to you I wash your car and I do a great job of it,
but you didn't ask me to do so.
In fact, suppose we've never met.
I've saved you some money or sometime and so I've benefited you by washing your car.
Does this give you an obligation?
It's not obvious that you now have an obligation.
After all, you didn't ask me to do this,
you don't in fact know of my existence.
I just cleaned your car without your permission.
Perhaps, you have some obligation.
Perhaps, an obligation to say thank you.
Although even that much isn't clear.
But bestowing any benefit on someone isn't
enough to give the other person and obligation to obey you.
Maybe that the person has an obligation to express gratitude,
but it doesn't give them an obligation to obey you.
2:55
So, this brings us to the second question,
what the obligation that stems from being
benefited by somebody gives you an obligation to do?
Does being benefited by something generate obligations for you to
obey the benefactor? Seemingly not.
Here's another example, suppose we have lunch and I pay for it.
Seems pretty clear that you have an obligation to say thank you.
But do you have an obligation to obey me?
Certainly not, you don't have an obligation to obey me just because I've benefited you.
So, how is this relevant to the benefit theory of political obligation?
Remember that the second part of the benefit theory was the claim that because
citizens are benefited by the state they acquire an obligation to obey the state.
The objection is that,
we can see that this claim is false because
as in the case where I buy you lunch or I wash your car,
benefiting someone doesn't generate an obligation to obey the benefactor.
It seems that at most it generates obligations to feel or
express gratitude not obligations to obey.
So, if we have an obligation to obey the law,
it must have some ground other than just being benefited by the state.
Dr. Dave WardLecturer in Philosophy
Professor Duncan PritchardProfessor of Philosophy
Professor Michela MassimiFull Professor
Dr. Suilin LavelleLecturer in Philosophy
Dr. Matthew ChrismanReader in Philosophy
Dr. Allan Hazlett
Dr. Alasdair RichmondDr.
Guy FletcherLecturer
Elinor MasonSenior Lecturer
