 Independence concerns citizens as subject to laws they give themselves, i.e. as co-legislators of the laws. This self-governance can be understood as the application in political philosophy of the idea of autonomy of the will in the Groundwork. While this principle appears to require universal democratic decision making for particular laws, Kant uses empirically-based reasoning to argue that this full citizenship does not extend to all. Kant excludes women and children, simply claiming that their exclusion is natural, as well as anyone who is not “one’s own master”, i.e. lacks economic self-sufficiency. These individuals who are dependent upon others in life have what Kant calls “passive” citizenship in the Doctrine of Right. Hence decision making is not universal. While Kant thereby denies women and others full citizenship in the ability to take part in legislation, he stresses that he is not denying them the rights entailed by freedom and equality as “passive” members of the state. In the Doctrine of Right he also adds that the political system must allow anyone in the passive condition to work their way up to independence and an active condition. With this restriction in mind, particular laws are to be determined by a majority of the citizens with voting rights, as will be discussed in section 4.