The state without sovereignty: Authority and obligation in Hume's political philosophy

• Autores: Paul Sagar
• Localización: History of political thought, ISSN 0143-781X, Vol. 37, Nº 2, 2016, págs. 271-305
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Hume has no theory of sovereignty. As a result he is frequently supposed to lack a proper theory of politics, providing only a political sociology incapable of addressing the central normative significance of political obligation in thinking about the modern state. This is a serious mistake. Hume addressed himself directly to the question of political obligation, but his argument was predicated upon a prior reconfiguration of our thinking about the nature, role and power of philosophy. In coming to appreciate this prior reconfiguration, in particular via a re-examination of Hume's indirect engagement with Locke's earlier juridical political theory, we can properly appreciate Hume as advancing a radically innovative theory of political obligation. What emerges is the possibility of a theory of the state without sovereignty. As well as thereby revealing Hume to be a major and highly original post-Hobbesian theorist of the state, we are invited to consider whether present political theory would do better by adopting Hume's recommended philosophical reconceptualization.