Why authority is conditional
Legitimacy
Authority is not legitimate just because it won, performed well once, or claims moral certainty.
Outcomes matter
A system has to deliver real public goods. It cannot hide behind procedure while life gets worse, institutions decay, or ecological costs are pushed forward.
Fairness matters
Burden distribution is part of legitimacy. A system that protects continuity by making one class, region, or generation absorb all the pain will eventually lose moral authority.
Correction matters
Legitimacy is renewable. People need ways to understand decisions, challenge them, and see how errors are corrected.
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Longer reads for the parts of this topic that need more than a summary.