Immanuel Kant, The Right Of Necessity, And The Liberal Foundation Of Social Welfare

This paper will explore the writings of Immanuel Kant on the state's role within the social contract and his comments regarding the requirements for the effective functioning of the law. It will be argued that within the writings of Kant a liberal justification for the welfare state can be developed based on his ideas about the state and its responsibilities. More specifically, the paper will focus on the role a condition termed "necessity" has on the state's ability to provide security for the population. Necessity represents a condition in which a person perceives that his or her survival is threatened. Kant claimed that action taken out of necessity lies outside the arena of human behavior in which the law can have an effective deterrent value.