We the people : Is the polity the state?

Journal article

Collins, Stephanie and Lawford-Smith, Holly. (2021). We the people : Is the polity the state? Journal of the American Philosophical Association. 7(1), pp. 78-97. https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2020.15
AuthorsCollins, Stephanie and Lawford-Smith, Holly
Abstract

When a liberal-democratic state signs a treaty or wages a war, does its whole polity do those things? In this article, we approach this question via the recent social ontological literature on collective agency. We provide arguments that it does and that it does not. The arguments are presented via three considerations: the polity's control over what the state does; the polity's unity; and the influence of individual polity members. We suggest that the answer to our question differs for different liberal-democratic states and depends on two underlying considerations: (1) the amount of discretion held by the state's officeholders; (2) the extent to which the democratic procedure is deliberative rather than aggregative.

Keywordscollective intentions; group action; agency; ontology; group agency
Year2021
JournalJournal of the American Philosophical Association
Journal citation7 (1), pp. 78-97
PublisherCambridge University Press
ISSN2053-4477
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2020.15
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85103622854
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range78-97
FunderAustralian Research Council (ARC)
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online22 Feb 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited05 Aug 2021
ARC Funded ResearchThis output has been funded, wholly or partially, under the Australian Research Council Act 2001
Grant IDARC/DE200101413
Permalink -

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8w74w/we-the-people-is-the-polity-the-state

Log in to edit

Restricted files

Publisher's version

  • 54
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month
These values are for the period from 19th October 2020, when this repository was created.

Export as

Related outputs

I, VOLKSWAGEN
Collins, Stephanie. (2022). I, VOLKSWAGEN. The Philosophical Quarterly. 72(2), pp. 283-304. https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqab032
Interconnected blameworthiness
Collins, Stephanie and de Haan, Niels. (2021). Interconnected blameworthiness. Monist. 104(2), pp. 195-209. https://doi.org/10.1093/monist/onaa032
Collective responsibility and international relations
Collins, Stephanie. (2020). Collective responsibility and international relations. In In Bazargan-Forward, Saba and Tollefsen, Deborah (Ed.). Routledge handbook of collective responsibility pp. 331-346 Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315107608-27
How much can we ask of collective agents?
Collins, Stephanie. (2020). How much can we ask of collective agents? Canadian Journal of Philosophy. 50(7), pp. 815-831. https://doi.org/10.1017/can.2020.42
Are organizations’ religious exemptions democratically defensible?
Collins, Stephanie. (2020). Are organizations’ religious exemptions democratically defensible? Daedalus. 149(3), pp. 105-118. https://doi.org/10.1162/DAED_a_01806
Corporations' duties in a changing climate
Collins, Stephanie. (2020). Corporations' duties in a changing climate. In In Moss, Jeremy and Umbers, Lachlan (Ed.). Climate justice and non-state actors : corporations regions, cities, and individuals pp. 84-100 Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429351877
Group duties : Their existence and their implications for individuals
Collins, Stephanie. (2019). Group duties : Their existence and their implications for individuals Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198840275.001.0001
Beyond individualism
Collins, Stephanie. (2019). Beyond individualism. In In Greaves, Hilary and Pummer, Theron (Ed.). Effective altruism: Philosophical issues pp. 202-217 Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198841364.003.0013
Collective Responsibility Gaps
Collins, Stephanie. (2019). Collective Responsibility Gaps. Journal of Business Ethics. 154(4), pp. 943 - 954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3890-6
Who does wrong when an organisation does wrong?
Collins, Stephanie. (2018). Who does wrong when an organisation does wrong? In In Hess, Kendy, Igneski, Violetta and Isaacs, Tracy Lynn (Ed.). Collectivity : Ontology, ethics, and social justice pp. 197-220 Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc..
When does ‘Can’ imply ‘Ought’?
Collins, Stephanie. (2018). When does ‘Can’ imply ‘Ought’? International Journal of Philosophical Studies. 26(3), pp. 354 - 375. https://doi.org/10.1080/09672559.2018.1489643
‘The Government should be ashamed’: On the possibility of organisations’ emotional duties
Collins, Stephanie. (2018). ‘The Government should be ashamed’: On the possibility of organisations’ emotional duties. Political Studies. 66(4), pp. 813 - 829. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321717739553
Care ethics : The four key claims
Collins, Stephanie. (2017). Care ethics : The four key claims. In In Morrow, David R. (Ed.). Moral reasoning : A text and reader on ethics and contemporary moral issues pp. 193-204 Oxford University Press.
Duties of group agents and group members
Collins, Stephanie. (2017). Duties of group agents and group members. Journal of Social Philosophy. 48(1), pp. 38-57. https://doi.org/10.1111/josp.12181
The present and the future of the Research Excellence Framework impact agenda in the UK Academy: A reflection from politics and international studies
Mhurchú, Aoileann Ní, McLeod, Laura, Collins, Stephanie and Siles-Brügge, Gabriel. (2017). The present and the future of the Research Excellence Framework impact agenda in the UK Academy: A reflection from politics and international studies. Political Studies Review. 15(1), pp. 60 - 72. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929916658918
Filling collective duty gaps
Collins, Stephanie. (2017). Filling collective duty gaps. Journal of Philosophy. 114(11), pp. 573 - 591. https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil20171141141
Responsibility for states' actions: Normative issues at the intersection of collective agency and state responsibility
Lawford-Smith, Holly and Collins, Stephanie. (2017). Responsibility for states' actions: Normative issues at the intersection of collective agency and state responsibility. Philosophy Compass. 12(11), pp. 1 - 8. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12456
The claims and duties of socioeconomic human rights
Collins, Stephanie. (2016). The claims and duties of socioeconomic human rights. The Philosophical Quarterly. 66(265), pp. 701 - 722. https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqw010
The transfer of duties: From individuals to states and back again
Collins, Stephanie and Lawford-Smith, Holly. (2016). The transfer of duties: From individuals to states and back again. In In M. Brady and M. Fricker (Ed.). The epistemic life of groups: Essays in the epistemology of collectives pp. 150 - 172 Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198759645.003.0009
Collectives' and individuals' obligations: A parity argument
Collins, Stephanie and Lawford-Smith, Holly. (2016). Collectives' and individuals' obligations: A parity argument. Canadian Journal of Philosophy. 46(1), pp. 38 - 58. https://doi.org/10.1080/00455091.2015.1116350
Distributing states' duties
Collins, Stephanie. (2016). Distributing states' duties. Journal of Political Philosophy. 24(3), pp. 344 - 366. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopp.12069