Security is something that people tend to care about. But is it also something that they should care about? To explore this question, this dissertation first develops a new conceptual framework of... Show moreSecurity is something that people tend to care about. But is it also something that they should care about? To explore this question, this dissertation first develops a new conceptual framework of security. Next, it analyses how security relates to some key values for liberal democratic societies. The first of these is well-being. It is argued that there are important ways in which security can contribute to somebody’s well-being – but there are also ways in which security may hamper a person’s flourishing. The second value is freedom. It is shown that in public decision-making freedom and security may come at each other’s cost – yet there are also ways in which the two can work to each other’s benefit. The third value is equality. It is demonstrated that in order for a society to meet the demands of equality it must provide its members with a particular set of securities – while at the same time the pursuit of equality puts another set of securities out of reach. Ultimately, this dissertation finds no reason for considering security to be good for its own sake, but it argues that security can be good for the sake of well-being, freedom, and equality. Show less
In the light of the fragility of current liberal democracies, this dissertation aims to contribute to rethinking political order by reconstructing Hegel’s account in the Philosophy of Right. His... Show moreIn the light of the fragility of current liberal democracies, this dissertation aims to contribute to rethinking political order by reconstructing Hegel’s account in the Philosophy of Right. His theory of political order has relevance as it explores how modern freedom, i.e. liberal rights and a market, can coexist with republican self-government. The reconstruction shows how a liberal order, i.e. based on the principle of individual autonomy and an instrumental account of government, must entail a loss of freedom and social and political pathologies: citizens for instance cannot acquire stable identities in the social whole and alienate themselves from the political realm. Moreover, it works out Hegel’s alternative account of political order in which freedom depends on the interplay of the opposed dynamics of the state and society: the state institutions pursuing the good of the community as a whole, while the members of civil society pursue their own good. Finally, the dissertation shows how Hegel offers a coherent and subtle account of republican citizenship and self-government, in which self-government does not depend primarily on the influence citizens exercise on political outcomes but on their ability to identify with the good of the community as a whole. Show less
