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ck4829

(34,905 posts)
Wed May 25, 2022, 11:31 AM May 2022

It's time to start talking about... legitimacy

In political science, legitimacy is the right and acceptance of an authority, usually a governing law or a regime. Whereas authority denotes a specific position in an established government, the term legitimacy denotes a system of government—wherein government denotes "sphere of influence". An authority viewed as legitimate often has the right and justification to exercise power. Political legitimacy is considered a basic condition for governing, without which a government will suffer legislative deadlock(s) and collapse. In political systems where this is not the case, unpopular régimes survive because they are considered legitimate by a small, influential élite. In Chinese political philosophy, since the historical period of the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC), the political legitimacy of a ruler and government was derived from the Mandate of Heaven, and unjust rulers who lost said mandate therefore lost the right to rule the people.

In moral philosophy, the term legitimacy is often positively interpreted as the normative status conferred by a governed people upon their governors' institutions, offices, and actions, based upon the belief that their government's actions are appropriate uses of power by a legally constituted government.

The Enlightenment-era British social philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) said that political legitimacy derives from popular explicit and implicit consent of the governed: "The argument of the (Second) Treatise is that the government is not legitimate unless it is carried on with the consent of the governed." The German political philosopher Dolf Sternberger said that "legitimacy is the foundation of such governmental power as is exercised, both with a consciousness on the government's part that it has a right to govern, and with some recognition by the governed of that right". The American political sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset said that legitimacy also "involves the capacity of a political system to engender and maintain the belief that existing political institutions are the most appropriate and proper ones for the society". The American political scientist Robert A. Dahl explained legitimacy as a reservoir: so long as the water is at a given level, political stability is maintained, if it falls below the required level, political legitimacy is endangered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legitimacy_(political)


Who is consenting to be governed by...

The whack-a-doodle five of the SCOTUS that will say dreams are evidence and evidence of innocence is not enough for an exoneration?

Law enforcement authorities that will practically give MIT to investigate miscarriages but will throw an etch a sketch at those who want to enforce red flag laws and say "that should cover you for five years"?

The Trump cult of personality?

The own-the-libs people?

The "I read on Facebook that they are putting litterboxes in school bathroom" crowd?

The "Michael Flynn is a living martyr" types?

QAnon?

Who? Not me.

And no, this should be beyond elections. My preferred candidate, my party losing an election does not mean I consent to the above. I am withdrawing consent to the possibility of being governed by the above tyrants and murderers.
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It's time to start talking about... legitimacy (Original Post) ck4829 May 2022 OP
Not consenting. ck4829 May 2022 #1
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