Conversations with Kant: On the Right to Revolution

Abstract

It is often argued that Kant’s understanding of the right to revolution is contradictory. On the one hand, he expresses enthusiasm for the French Revo lution and the ideas on which it rests, while on the other, he openly denies the existence of a legal right to revolution. This paper aims to make Kant’s position plausible by showing that he does not deny the right to revolution in all states, but only in those that fulfill the purpose for which they were created, which is to protect the rights and freedoms of all citizens.

Često se tvrdi da je Kantovo shvatanje prava na revoluciju kontradiktorno. Sa jedne strane, on izražava entuzijazam prema Francuskoj revoluciji i idejama na kojima ona počiva, dok sa druge strane otvoreno negira postojanje legalnog prava na revoluciju. Cilj ovog teksta je da se Kantova pozicija učini plauzibilnom tako što će se pokazati da Kant ne negira pravo na revoluciju u svim državama, već samo u onim koje ispunjavaju svrhu zbog koje su nastale, a to je zaštita prava i sloboda svih građana.