  Recognizing the role of judgment in politics means for Rehberg that another fundamental tenet of revolutionary ideology collapses: the principle of the autonomy of reason, i.e., the belief that each individual alone has the power and right to determine how to act in the state (15-17). Rousseau and Kant are right to claim that reason is inalienable, and that each individual is sovereign in having the power and right to ascertain general moral principles.  But this does not give them, Rehberg argued, the power and right to determine how to apply these principles in specific circumstances.  Since knowing how to apply these principles is a matter of judgment, and since judgment depends on experience and expertise, only a few qualified individuals will be able to determine the best form of a constitution and the laws of a country.  Hence, in these cases, the individual should alienate his powers of judgment to those who are more qualified.  Rehberg's advocacy of the role of judgment in politics thus became the basis for his defense of elite rule.  