ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the assimilation of Immanuel Kant into either tradition is problematic. Two recurrent Kantian themes are crucial to a reconstruction of his political argument. The first is the tension between freedom and causality, or nature. The second is the role of reflective judgment in practical reasoning. The chapter analyses Kant's property argument, and his related account of political obligation, from the perspective of these Kantian themes. It offers Kant's justification of individual property rights from a perspective which continues to be neglected despite the recent revival of interest in his late political work, the Metaphysical Elements of Justice. The chapter is concerned with the problem of individual freedom of choice and action under conditions of natural or empirically given constraints. It argues that Kant's account of the connection between individual rights and political obligation cannot be assimilated into either natural law or social contract theories.
