Legitimacy: what this star will be

Legitimacy is a star on the Constellate sky: placed by meaning, named, and connected to the stars around it. This is the short form of its post: the line it carries, the area we colour Politics, and what stands beside it today.

The line it carries on the sky: Power that must be enforced is already failing; power obeyed unasked is legitimacy.

What stands beside it

The stars nearest to it are Credible Commitment, Institutions, The Iron Law of Oligarchy and Legibility, and Institutions is already open to walk. When Legitimacy opens, the conversation will land it among them, with a line drawn to each idea it touches.

Ask for this star

Every star is lit by demand. Ask for Legitimacy and it moves up the list; when it opens, this post becomes the full essay. The open stars beside it can be walked today, and the first concept of every course is free.