Kant and Habermas: Foundations of Political Philosophy

Kant: The State and the Social Contract

For Kant, a state is a community of human beings over whom no one is entitled to command. Its formation is due to the original contract established between individuals.

His theory of "unsocial sociability" suggests that humans are related to one another by a kind of natural sociability but tend to oppose each other. Society must be a space in which pluralistic freedoms coexist peacefully and cooperate. This is achieved through law, which operates according to universal principles of reason governing cohabitation. The state of reason replaces the Machiavellian state.

• The state must comply with the law.
• A person is only subject to the law that obliges reciprocally.

This is how Kant establishes equality and sovereignty as the foundational pillars of the state. The contract must be based on the consent of citizens, and the legitimacy of laws depends on the power exercised through them. The social contract is a vindication of the legislator's own freedom; thus, freedom is presented as an ideal of reason.

Habermas: Deliberative Democracy and Discourse

Habermas developed what is known as the merits of deliberative or democratic rule of law in his book Between Facts and Norms. He argued that previous philosophies failed to sufficiently explain the principles forming the basis for the democratic process of political participation.

The theory of Habermas connects discourse ethics with the democratic process through discursive application procedures at the base of our state of law. At the heart of this philosophy is the intersubjective validity situation:

• The validity of adopted rules depends on the consent of all concerned.
• The democratic process provides validity to the actions of the political legislator.
• The idea of discourse law is related to the idea of self-determination.

The agreement achieved results from a dialogue that recognizes the needs and interests that everyone can share. Our states guarantee the reciprocal impulse between personal freedoms and the civil liberties of citizens, thus positively relating popular sovereignty and individual rights.