In this essay, Emma Fensom examines Immanuel Kant’s distinction between active and passive citizens within his rightful state. In particular, Fensom focuses on whether such distinction can justify denying suffrage to those deemed ‘dependent’, and thus passive within society. Ultimately, Fensom finds Kant’s distinction to be arbitrary and grounded in prejudice. Further, she argues that a Kantian state will never be able to create the necessary conditions for those deemed passive to become active, where it cannot be guaranteed that active citizens will always vote in accordance with the general will.