Public Value, Knowability, and Legitimacy: A Thought Experiment

Government is legitimate if the governed accept the role of governors in coordinating collective activity. Where the governed believe that their views on public policy are correct and that the governors’ policies are incorrect, the governed have a conflict of duties. However, where the governed know that public value is unknowable it is reasonable for the governed to accept that government directions are legitimate even when they disagree with those policies, so long as appropriate processes are observed. A thought experiment shows that unknowability is a necessary condition for legitimacy.