A System of Rights - Softcover

Martin, Rex

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198292937 ISBN 13: 9780198292937

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1998

Synopsis

The justification of political authority is one of the long-standing issues of political philosophy, and one which persistently defies satisfactory solution. In this paperback edition of a highly successful study, Professor Martin sets out to provide an original justification by establishing a background framework for dealing with the problem. He begins by identifying the main elements of political authority, arguing that they need to be linked in order to create a political authority that can be described as justified. He then sketches a framework - a sample system of political institutions and conceptions which is internally coherent - to link these elements. The rest of the book fills in this outline. Professor Martin argues that rights are established patterns of acting or of being treated and are hence essentially institutional in character. The institutions that tend to be the most supportive and productive of individual rights are, he believes, democratic, and the central section of the book is devoted to the connection of rights with majority rule, democratic political institutions and conceptions. From this nexus, secondary lines are traced to political obligation (or allegiance) and to an eligible justification for using punishment to enforce the rights of individuals. Thus Professor Martin's analysis forms a distinctive and systematic approach to one particular style of government. This rethinking of some of the main topics in political theory is long overdue; it yields some striking conclusions about both the nature of rights and the nature of political authority itself. Reviews for the hardback edition: 'analytical political theory at its best...thoroughly worked through, illuminating, and persuasive' Political Studies 'he dicusses knowledgeably yet imaginatively one sort of political and legal system...I unreservedly assert that his institutional conception of rights deserves to be taken seriously as a very plausible alternative to the more famili

About this title

Review:

analytical political theory at its best...thoroughly worked through, illuminating, and persuasive (Political Studies)

he dicusses knowledgeably yet imaginatively one sort of political and legal system...I unreservedly assert that his institutional conception of rights deserves to be taken seriously as a very plausible alternative to the more familiar theories of Hart, Feinberg, Dworkin and Raz. Equally important are his discussions of the nature of democracy and the internal justification of punishment. Most impressive of all is his detailed demonstration of the internal coherence of the system of rights sketched in this book (Ethics)

Rex Martin has written the most important analysis and justification of political authority and obligation since T. H. Green's Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation...[A System of Rights is] rich in argument and unorthodox conclusions (Gerald F. Gaus, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research)

From the Back Cover:

The justification of political authority is one of the long-standing issues of political philosophy, and one which persistently defies satisfactory solution. This book sets out to provide an original justification by establishing a background framework for dealing with the problem. Rex Martin begins by identifying the main elements of authority, arguing that they need to be linked in order to create a political authority that can be described as justified. He then sketches a framework - a sample system of political institutions and conceptions which is internally coherent - to link these elements. The rest of the book fills in this outline. Professor Martin argues that rights are established patterns of acting or of being treated and are hence essentially institutional in character. The institutions that tend to be the most supportive, and productive, of individual rights are, he believes, democratic, and the central section of the book is devoted to the connection of rights with majority rule democratic political institutions and conceptions. From this nexus secondary lines of connection are traced to political obligation (or allegiance) and to an eligible justification for using punishment to enforce the rights of individuals. Thus Professor Martin's analysis forms a distinctive and systematic approach to one particular state of government. This rethinking of some of the main topics of political theory is long overdue; it yields some striking conclusions about both the nature of rights and the nature of political authority itself.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0198292937
• ISBN 13: 9780198292937
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448