Political & Social Philosophy · The meaning of freedom

Civic Republicanism

Freedom requires protection against domination, not merely an absence of actual interference.

What it claims

Civic republicanism understands freedom as non-domination. A person subject to a benevolent master is still unfree even when the master rarely interferes: the unchecked power to interfere shapes plans and encourages deference. Pettit describes domination through subjection to arbitrary or uncontrolled power.

Nearby positions

Key thinkers

Philip Pettit · Quentin Skinner · Hannah Arendt · Niccolò Machiavelli · Maurizio Viroli