The rebellion example illustrates the difficulty involved in moving from the hypothetical test to real life situations. What is at stake is our understanding of what “compatibility” could plausibly mean once we move from an ideal to a non-ideal public. The tension in Kant’s text is the following. As we keep reading the general part of his argument, it looks as if reference is made to the universal acceptability of a maxim in the eyes of an ideal and rational public. The rebellion as well as the other examples he gives however (1795 [1923: 383–384]) all rely on a “self-frustration” (or counter-productivity) mechanism. Of course, the latter may have a direct connection with what it may be rational for the beneficiaries and victims of a maxim to do. However, Kant remains unclear about the connection between such preoccupations and the just or unjust nature of a maxim.