[...]... apology Accordingly, the political obligations discussed throughout this work will generally be assumed to be prima facie obligations, while it should also be borne in mind that political obligations can be dissolved by unacceptable injustice.32 That these requirements too are satisfied by obligations based on consent is seen in Locke's theory, which is the locus classicus for political obligations being overridden... of attitudes towards political obligations I examine how the state itself views political obligations by looking at judicial decisions in three quite different liberal democracies and at ordinary people's views of political obligations, through focus groups and some survey research I also present a series of arguments to establish the importance of such information for normative political theory Although... Press,1958) In addition, I do not construe political obligations in a narrow sense, as necessarily grounded in voluntary actions Strong moral reasons to obey the law would constitute an adequate theory of political obligation, whether or not these reasons stem from obligations in the strict sense For discussion, see A J Simmons, Moral Principles and Political Obligations (Princeton: Princeton University... discussion of political obligation Chapter 3 builds on criticisms of nonstate theories in Chapter 2, in order to counter the most important objection to political obligations based on the principle of fairness that has emerged Chapter 4 critically examines theories of obligation based on the natural duties of justice I criticize John Rawls's attempt to ground obligations on a ‘natural political duty’... cooperation, yields political obligations based on the principle of fairness In criticizing nonstate provision of public goods, these chapters are intended to establish factual parameters within which overall discussions of political obligation should be conducted Briefly, the plan of this book is as follows In this introductory chapter, I review the principle of fairness as a basis for political obligations. .. bound to obey the laws of their societies As with other moral subjects, one thing we want an account of political obligation to do is to provide order and grounding for our basic moral sentiments.35 That most people believe they have political obligations is conceded by prominent opponents of political obligations For example, in spite of what he views as cogent arguments against the main theories of obligation,... obligations of promising, requiring clear awareness of (c1) is too strong Once again, I believe the current skepticism about political obligation can be answered by showing that people have strong moral requirements to obey the law, again, analogous to those they would have from general consent Because most people believe they have such obligations, views according to which there are no political obligations. .. concerning political obligations In Chapters 7 and 8, I examine the reasoning on questions of political obligation of the judiciaries of the United States (Chapter 7), and Germany and Israel (Chapter 8) Reasons for using this source of evidence are discussed in Chapter 7 and defense of this particular choice of countries in Chapter 8 Finally, in Chapters 9 and 10, I discuss attitudes towards political. .. suffering These are among our basic considered judgments.25 A satisfactory theory of political obligation must be consistent with them and can draw on them for support As it seems to me, the relevant criteria can be identified by looking at a theory of political obligation based on consent In the liberal tradition, political obligations have traditionally been viewed as stemming from consent, and consent... obey a given law, L, is independent of content for her to believe she has political obligations We should view her as believing she has them simply if, confronted with L, she thinks she should obey it, that not obeying would require justification To be more precise here, while independence of content is necessary for political obligations, Smith does not have to be fully aware of this in 37 L Green, .