Category: Political philosophy

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Trump’s Greatest Threat is to the Idea of Civilized Life Itself

  By Fascism, Philosophy, Political philosophy, Racial Justice, White Supremacy and Structural Racism

To understand Trump and his politics and what we have to do to stop it, we must recognize that he is ultimately a threat to the central idea of human political and social achievement, that human beings do better when everyone is included and our aim is the collective good of all. Let me start with one example, and then return to this general point. There is an interesting and complicated discussion in Machiavelli’s Discourses about whether it is better, when one is in a conflict with another state, to fight abroad or at home. There is a lot to be said on both sides when it comes to conventional war. But when it comes to dealing with infectious disease, isn’t it obvious that it’s better to fight abroad? That is, we protect our own citizens from infectious diseases by helping other countries contain outbreaks of them in their own… Continue reading

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Moral Rage and Moral Humility: Memorial Day Thoughts

  By Philosophy, Political philosophy

Criticizing the unjust wars our country has fought is as appropriate and important today as is honoring the brave soldiers who died fighting for our country in wars both just and unjust. I wish however that this criticism came in a different mode than I’ve seen a lot of today, one that embraced humility and self-awareness. I know I’m not the only one who has been terribly wrong in my political judgments in the past, including judgments about war and peace. I know I’m not the only one who is capable of such errors. Unjust wars Mare not just created by those different from us who act out of greed and selfishness and aggressiveness. They are also created by people like us who act out of misplaced idealism as well as by people like us who deceive themselves and think that their selfishness, greed, and aggressiveness is justified their ideals.… Continue reading

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Democracy and Diversity

  By Academic, Civic virtue, Communitarianism, Conference Papers, Neighborhoods, NW Philly, Philadelphia, Political philosophy, Published Paper, West Mount Airy, West Mt. Airy Neighbors

This paper draws on my experience as a leader of West Mt. Airy Neighbors in the early 2000s as well as on my academic work on communitarian political thought. It was written for an International Conference on Deliberative Democracy held in Hangzhou, China in December 2004. It was published in Chinese translation in 2005 in a book edited by Bao-Gang He. An earlier version was presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in 2003. Abstract One of the oldest arguments in the history of political theory is that strong communities are only possible where people live a life in common. And one of the central themes of participatory democratic theory is that involved citizens are only possible where communities are strong. Together, these arguments lead to the conclusion that strong, democratic communities must be homogenous. Homogeneity is frequently thought to be a prerequisite for strong communities… Continue reading

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How Much of Communitarianism is Left (and Right)?

  By Academic, Communitarianism, Conference Papers, Political philosophy, Published Paper

How Much of Communitarianism is Left (and Right)?  in Peter Augustine Lawler and Dale McConkey, eds. Community and Political Thought Today (Praeger, 1998). An earlier version was presented at a conference on Communitarianism and Civil Society at Berry College on October 17, 1996 Abstract In the last few years, the conflict between communitarians and liberals has cooled. Communitarians have pointed out—and many liberals have recognized—that for all their criticisms of liberal political and social life, communitarians are firmly committed to the central achievements of liberalism: the protection of civil rights and liberties and liberal democratic government. Liberals have pointed out—and many communitarians have recognized—that liberalism can be defended apart from any commitment to the individualist, asocial philosophical anthropology found in philosophers such as Hobbes and Locke. Thus a liberal political theory need not neglect the inherently social character of human life. Nor need a liberal regime deny the importance of… Continue reading