Political Philosophy

Beginner

Nothing here assumes you have read philosophy before. Every term is defined where it first appears, and the motivating example comes before the formalism.

Authority and Legitimacy
Why some commands create obligations and others are only threats backed by force
7 min
What a State Is For
Order, defence, and public goods, and the anarchist reply that none of it requires a state
8 min
Needs firstAuthority and Legitimacy
Liberty, Equality, and Justice as Three Demands
How freedom from interference, equal standing, and fair shares pull against each other
9 min
Needs firstWhat a State Is For
What Justice Requires
Desert, need, and merit as rival bases for a share, and the difference between a fair procedure and a fair outcome
10 min
Needs firstLiberty, Equality, and Justice as Three Demands
Rights, Introduced
Claims against others, liberties to act, and the split between rights demanding restraint and rights demanding provision
9 min
Needs firstWhat Justice Requires
Law and the Rule of Law
What separates a legal system from organised force, and the first split between positivists and natural lawyers
10 min
Needs firstRights, Introduced