Relation of Representation, Consent and Obligation to Obey the Law

FAIN: FT-12162-74

Michael S. Davis
Illinois State University (Normal, IL 61790-0001)

To determine what relationship there is between a) the various forms of "representative government," b) that consent the makers of the American Revolution thought was the source of the just powers of government, and 2) that obligation ("political obligation") to law which is independent of the peculiar content of the law. A principle of representation would add considerably to our ability to make sense of the current debates over obligation to law in a representative democracy.