Page:Popular Works of Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1889) Vol 2.djvu/188

 nothing more than this,—that a particular Class in society is established by Art, or is met with in Nature and History, to which is committed, as its exclusive branch of the general application of power, the estimate of the purpose of the State, and the task of governing according to this estimate; while the other Classes direct their powers to something else; and all of them, in their common character as the governed, stand opposed to the Rulers. Here Political Freedom is possessed only by the Rulers; the governed are altogether without it, and, in reference to the Government, they are merely Subjects.

In the first place, the Constitution of the State, as it should be according to Reason, is not necessarily altered or abridged in any respect by such a form of Government as we have now described. The governing Class remains subject to the common purpose of the State, which is determined by the general wants of the Community; and it must apply all its powers, without exception or reserve, directly to the attainment of this purpose; just as the other Classes have to dedicate their labour indirectly to the attainment of the same purpose: hence, in regard to this purpose, it is as much subjected as the others. This Class itself, as a constituent element of the Race, is a part of the purpose of the State; and the attainment of its wants, as an element of the Race, but not as a governing Class, must likewise be secured; and the Ruler is therefore a Citizen, just as much as all the others but in no higher degree.

It is thus only the form of the State which is determined, and its realization absolutely required, by Reason; but by no means the form of Government. If the purpose of the State be understood, as clearly as is possible at the time, and all existing power be directed towards the realization of this highest conception, then is the Government right and good, whether it be in the hands of All, or in the hands of a few Individuals, or finally in those of a