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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2024

Avihay Dorfman
Affiliation:
Tel-Aviv University
Alon Harel
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Summary

Reclaiming the Public defines and defends the intrinsic value of “the public” that resides in our public institutions and the officials that run them. The book argues that public institutions do not simply act for us but instead speak and act in our name; that is, they represent us. Representation requires that decisions made by public institutions or officials are consistent with the perspectives of citizens. If the decisions satisfy this requirement, these decisions are attributable to citizens, and citizens can be held responsible for them. This theory of political authority accounts for major features of our legal system, such as the noninstrumental grounds for the separation of law-making powers, the noninstrumental value of constitutions, the limits of privatization, the nature and value of public property, and the impermissibility of using artificial intelligence in setting certain policies and making certain decisions.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Introduction
  • Avihay Dorfman, Tel-Aviv University, Alon Harel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Book: Reclaiming the Public
  • Online publication: 22 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009327206.001
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Introduction
  • Avihay Dorfman, Tel-Aviv University, Alon Harel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Book: Reclaiming the Public
  • Online publication: 22 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009327206.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Avihay Dorfman, Tel-Aviv University, Alon Harel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Book: Reclaiming the Public
  • Online publication: 22 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009327206.001
Available formats
×