Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) endorsed a view of the individual human agent that implies a minimal, libertarian state, yet he endorsed a state that seems in some cases to conflict with that agency. How might Kant’s other ideas resolve the tension between his libertarianism and his endorsements of state power?

James R. Otteson is the John T. Ryan Jr. Professor of Business Ethics, University of Notre Dame.
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Government and PoliticsGovernment PowerLaw and LibertyPolitical Theory
Other Independent Review articles by James R. Otteson
Summer 2019 Opting Out: A Defense of Social Justice
Summer 2017 The Misuse of Egalitarianism in Society
Fall 2012 The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior
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