Fichte and the relationship between self-positing and rights

A common criticism of Fichte’s political thought is that it is not systematically linked to Fichte’s idea of self-positing, which would amount to a rift in his practical philosophy. This criticism can be countered through a systematic analysis of Fichte’s view of rational political society. This view involves not just a portrayal of the social and political institu-tions essential to a just social order, but also an account of citizen participation. The idea is that social progress derives from the people, either collectively or individually, rather than from institutions directly. This idea is crucial to recognizing the link between social membership and self-positing in Fichte’s practical philosophy, since self-positing entails, or so shall I argue, participation in the determination of the social order.