A. John Simmons is an American political philosopher at the University of Virginia, best known for defending philosophical anarchism—the position that no actual state possesses legitimate authority and that citizens have no general moral obligation to obey the law. His work draws heavily on Lockean natural rights theory and consent-based accounts of political obligation.
Developed a systematic defense of philosophical anarchism regarding the grounds of political obligation
Distinguished between state legitimacy (justification right to rule) and political obligation (citizens' duty to obey)
Advanced Lockean natural rights theory as a framework for evaluating political authority
Argued that hypothetical or tacit consent cannot ground genuine political obligations
Authored foundational texts including Moral Principles and Political Obligations (1979) and Justification and Legitimacy (2001)