From Pluralist to Patriotic Politics Putting Practice First [Hardcover]

The moral and political philosophy of pluralism has become increasingly influential. To pluralists, when values genuinely conflict we should aim to strike an appropriate balance or trade-off between them, though this means accepting that compromise will be inevitable. Politics, as a result, appears as a thoroughly tragic affair.

Drawing on a hermeneutical conception of interpretation, the author develops an original account of practical reasoning, one which assumes that, though making compromises in the face of conflicts is indeed often unavoidable, there are times when reconciliation, as distinct from compromise, is feasible. For this to be so, however, citizens must strive to converse--and not just negotiate--with each other, thus fulfilling the good that is at the heart of their shared political community. This is the central message of the patriotic alternative to pluralist politics that the author defends here.

Introduction: Against the Neutralist `Politics' of Political Theory
Two Pluralist Polities
Compromising Zero-Sum Morals
Towards the Patriotic Polity
Governance: Towards the Patriotic Lawmaker
Welfare: Towards the Patriotic Corporation
Recognition: Towards a Patriotic Respect of the Individual
Conclusion: Aim Higher

...among the mass of work on related issues now appearing, a genuinely original and worthwhile contribution. --Philosophy

...a fascinating book about political philosophy. --Democratization

An excellent study of contemporary democratic theory, well versed in the classics of political philosophy. --Choice

...its idiosyncratic, wide-ranging and synthetic approach to central issues of political, moral and philosophical analysis undoubtedly breaks new ground...[Readers] would do well to take notice of the challenges this book poses to the current practice of political philosophy. --PoliticalStudies

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