ABSTRACT
The Conclusion reflects on the main findings in this book. It briefly considers how constitutional morality frames the moral principles underlying duty to obey the law, in legal theory. It frames legitimacy claims as moral arguments which liberal democratic states use in claims for obedience to law. It presents violent protest as democratic dialogue and moral dialogue and argues that this is valuable in political theory. It examines arguments against protest violence based on principles of democracy, legitimacy, the rule of law, justice, liberty, utilitarianism, deontology, and other perspectives. It is argued that these criticisms present important limitations on justifiable violent protest but not an absolute proscription against it. The Conclusion then identifies the main theoretical and practical implications of the book. Then, the 2021 US Capitol riot is used as a case study in demonstrating how the theory behind this book can be applied to current instances of activism and direct action, before final thoughts on the valence of violence are considered.
