Understanding the dependencies that shape us.
Concern for preservation differs from the comparative need for recognition. Amour-propre can become rivalry and dependency; its social formation also raises questions about education.
Distinguish doing useful work from chiefly wanting to outshine a colleague.
Human beings acquire capacities and change their needs. This openness allows learning and corruption; change does not necessarily mean improvement.
A technology extends a capacity while sometimes creating dependency.
It concerns the common interest of citizens. It is neither apparent unanimity nor an aggregate of private preferences.
A common rule needs justification beyond the benefit of those voting for it.
The crucial question often concerns whose will one depends on. Political right seeks to replace personal submission with shared laws.
Compare a publicly contestable rule with a superior’s revocable favor.