Republicans held that subjection to another’s arbitrary will itself constitutes unfreedom
Evidence
Contrary to established assumptions, the conception of freedom which was espoused in the long republican tradition was not the positive notion; in particular, it was not the notion of freedom as democratic self-mastery that Constant described as the liberty of the ancients. … Among the other two alternatives the republican conception endorsed the ideal of freedom as non-domination, not the ideal of freedom as non-interference. This is evident in the fact that it regarded all those who are subject to another’s arbitrary will as unfree, even if the other does not actually interfere with them; there is no interference in such a case but there is a loss of liberty. The non-interfering master remains still a master and a source of domination. — Philip Pettit, Republicanism, 1209
Categorization
- SEED: The non-interfering master still being a master offers a seed for an essay on how structural domination persists without overt action — applies beyond politics to workplaces, marriages, colonial rule.
- XREF: Resonates with legal theorist and institutional arguments about how extralegal power can dominate without visible interference, e.g. the diamond bourse private governance material. — connects to: Republican freedom means absence of dependence on arbitrary power, not non-interference. — Frank Lovett, Republicanism, 18; Republican freedom can relate to noninterference in various distinct ways. — Frank Lovett, Republicanism, 29; Republican freedom can be equated with an extended rule of law — Frank Lovett, Republicanism, 32 (+6 more)