All human beings are born with equal dignity and possess equal rights. This statement appears
normatively just as irrefutable as it is empirically refuted every day. But what are the
grounds of this principle and how should we think about its realization? Its philosophical
truth can best be explained by going back to (and beyond) Kant's notion of a 'noumenal
republic' in which every person is an equal co-author of the laws that bind all. At the same
time a critical analysis of society and politics must show the extent to which the reality of
power and ideology makes a mockery of this constructivist conception of dignity. To bridge the
gap between unworldly idealism and practical hopelessness we need a critical theory after
Kant. Rainer Forst one of the world's most influential political philosophers works to
develop just such a theory in this powerful and illuminating volume. It contains no less than a
new systematic account of concepts such as alienation progress and regression solidarity
human rights justice power and non-domination.
