One striking implication of this view is that “there is no political obligation, strictly speaking, for citizens generally.” Although those who run for office voluntarily incur a political obligation (that is, to serve their country if elected), the ordinary citizen does not. As Rawls writes, “it is not clear what is the requisite binding action or who has performed it.”44 So if the liberal account of obligation is right, the average citizen has no special obligations to his or her fellow citizens, beyond the universal, natural duty not to commit injustice.
