What gives one person, institution, or government the moral authority to exercise power over another?
That is the central question of this site.
Much of modern public argument skips over the only issue that matters most. People ask whether an action is legal, popular, efficient, or useful. Far fewer ask whether it is justified.
This project begins there. It does not assume that power is legitimate because it is established. It asks what standard must be met before force, law, or authority can rightly claim obedience.
Before asking what government may do, we must ask: by what right?
The standard behind the argument
Rights are prior to power
Rights are not permissions granted by authority. They are moral boundaries that power must not violate.
Reason is essential to human life
Man survives by rational judgment. A political order that undermines rational agency undermines the conditions of human flourishing.
Force requires justification
Because force limits choice and overrides judgment, it must be strictly limited and morally justified.