DOCSLIB.ORG

Political Legitimacy and the Pragmatic Turn

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Political Legitimacy and the Pragmatic Turn Quaestiones Infinitae PUBLICATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY UTRECHT UNIVERSITY VOLUME LXV Copyright © 2011 by Thomas Fossen All rights reserved Cover photograph: Copyright © 2009 by Roeland Fossen From the series “Political Waste” www.roelandfossen.com Printed by Wöhrmann Printing Service, Zutphen ISBN 978-90-393-5568-8 Political Legitimacy and the Pragmatic Turn Politieke legitimiteit en de wending naar de praktijk (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Utrecht op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof.dr. G.J. van der Zwaan, ingevolge het besluit van het college voor promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op vrijdag 27 mei 2011 des middags te 4.15 uur door Thomas Fossen geboren op 19 januari 1983 te Hilversum Promotor: Prof. dr. H.H.A. van den Brink Co-promotoren: Dr. J.H. Anderson Dr. P. Markell CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...........................................................................vii INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 1. A political predicament ................................................................................ 1 2. Two lines of approach to political legitimacy .............................................. 4 3. Toward a social-pragmatic view of political legitimacy ............................... 7 4. Outline ......................................................................................................... 9 1. THE TRADITIONAL DIVISION OF LABOR AND THE PRAGMATIC TURN........................................................................................................... 13 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 13 1.2 The grammar of ‘legitimacy’.................................................................... 15 1.3 Political legitimacy and the task of social science..................................... 18 1.4 The right to rule....................................................................................... 26 1.5 Normativism and its presuppositions ....................................................... 30 1.6 The pragmatic turn and the need to rethink political legitimacy ............ 41 1.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 47 2. THE NORMATIVE VALIDITY OF LAW AS LAW: DISPUTING HABERMAS’ CONCEPTION OF LEGITIMACY.................................... 51 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 51 2.2 Rational reconstruction and the dual character of law............................ 53 2.3 Legitimacy as the normative dimension of legal validity ......................... 56 2.4 Normative validity and democracy.......................................................... 58 2.5 The complex relation between law and morality..................................... 60 2.6 Disambiguating the participant perspective............................................. 68 2.7 Disputing legitimacy................................................................................. 73 2.8 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 77 3. SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES AND FARCICAL PRACTICES: POLITICIZING BRANDOM’S SOCIAL PRAGMATISM ....................... 79 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 79 3.2 The pragmatic turn—meaning as use...................................................... 83 3.3 Truth and knowledge............................................................................... 89 3.4 The agonal character of discursive practice............................................. 92 3.5 Farcical practices.................................................................................... 103 3.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 109 vi CONTENTS 4. TAKING STANCES: THE POLITICAL PRAGMATICS OF LEGITIMACY........................................................................................... 111 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 111 4.2 What is ‘political’ about political legitimacy?......................................... 113 4.3 Politics as stance-taking toward rule ...................................................... 116 4.4 The practice of disputing legitimacy ...................................................... 122 4.5 A socio-perspectival interpretation of legitimacy de facto and de jure .. 126 4.6 Some clarifications ................................................................................. 133 4.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 135 5. SHIFTING STANCES: POLITICAL JUDGMENT AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF POLITICS ......................................................... 137 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 137 5.2 Situating political judgment ................................................................... 138 5.3 Critical moments: The second of June and the German Autumn......... 142 5.4 The political predicament, revisited....................................................... 147 5.5 Political identity...................................................................................... 150 5.6 Representation of authority ................................................................... 154 5.7 Eventfulness............................................................................................ 157 5.8 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 159 6. CONTESTING COMMITMENTS: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IN MEDIAS RES ............................................................................................. 161 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................... 161 6.2 Securing genuine obligations ................................................................. 165 6.3 Associative obligations............................................................................ 169 6.4 Rereading Pitkin on the social grammar of political obligation............. 174 6.5 From securing obligations to contesting commitments.......................... 180 6.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 187 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................... 189 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................... 193 INDEX ....................................................................................................... 209 SAMENVATTING.................................................................................... 211 CURRICULUM VITAE............................................................................ 221 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In writing a dissertation, one incurs a lot of commitments. Not the least of them is to acknowledge the fact that the achievement is not wholly one’s own, and to express one’s dept of gratitude to those who have contributed to its development or to the conditions favorable to its completion. I have been incredibly fortunate to have Bert van den Brink as promotor. I could not have wished for someone more knowledgeable and supportive. A kind of mentor as much as a supervisor, he was helpful on every step of the way. His affinity with and confidence in the project (more than I had myself) were extremely beneficial. He made an incredible investment of time and attention and I am grateful that his door was always open for me. Joel Anderson was very important with his enthusiasm and invaluable suggestions. Our many conversations were always stimulating, directing my ideas in new directions and helping me to find the words to express them, as well as answering all sorts of questions about life in academia. I’ve also learned a great deal from Patchen Markell, who was generous with his time and offered penetrating commentary—I am grateful for his willingness to complement the team. Marcus Düwell, though not in the end formally promotor, was critically helpful and supportive from the beginning. Wout Cornelissen and Rutger Claassen have become great friends and brothers in arms in political philosophy, commenting on drafts, discussing the ins and outs of the profession, poking fun and drinking whisky. In Chicago, the many hours at the library with Vincent van Exel were as memorable for their productivity as those at the bar and cinema for viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS diversion, and he was a crucial source of support. Albert Joosse and Maarten van Houte, friends and fellow PhD students at Utrecht, also require mention in this respect. For comments on drafts, critical discussions, and helpful conversations, I would like to thank: Gerhard Bos, Antoon Braeckman, Loren Goldman, Tim Heysse, Bonnie Honig, Hans Joas, Pauline Kleingeld, Cristina Lafont, JJ McFadden, Chris Meckstroth, Dorota Mokrosinska, Aletta Norval, Johan Olsthoorn, David Owen, Roland Pierik, Stefan Rummens, JT Scarry, Micha Werner, and Evert van der Zweerde. Thanks also to Jacco Pekelder for sharing his expertise on German history. I had the opportunity to present my work in
Load more

Recommended publications
  • APA Newsletters
    APA Newsletters Volume 06, Number 2 Spring 2007 NEWSLETTER ON PHILOSOPHY AND LAW FROM THE EDITOR, STEVEN SCALET ARTICLES BRIAN H. BIX “Joseph Raz and Conceptual Analysis” JULES L. COLEMAN “Law and Political Morality” TIMOTHY ENDICOTT “Interpretation, Jurisdiction, and the Authority of Law” KENNETH EINAR HIMMA “Revisiting Raz: Inclusive Positivism and the Concept of Authority” LIAM MURPHY “Razian Concepts” STEPHEN PERRY “Two Problems of Political Authority” © 2007 by The American Philosophical Association ISSN: 1067-9464 APA NEWSLETTER ON Philosophy and Law Steven Scalet, Editor Spring 2007 Volume 06, Number 2 relating to such theories. In particular, I will look at the role of conceptual analysis in legal theory, focusing on some recent FROM THE EDITOR work by Joseph Raz.1 I. Overview Edition in Tribute to Joseph Raz It was a commonplace in the history of jurisprudence to focus on the inquiry, what is law? It is worth taking a few moments Joseph Raz is professor at Columbia University Law School to consider the question more closely. and research faculty at Oxford University. His writings influence generations of scholars and his many students are now among First and foremost, there is a potential confusion (heightened 2 the leading scholars in philosophy of law. in English more than in other major languages ), as “law,” even if focused on matters jurisprudential (and not speaking of physical For this edition of the Newsletter we invited leading political laws, the laws of games, social conventions, etc.), can refer to and legal philosophers to analyze some aspect of Professor a number of different, if related, matters: most prominently, Raz’s ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy (PHIL) 1
    Philosophy (PHIL) 1 PHILOSOPHY (PHIL) PHIL 3000 Plato's Metaphysics (4 Credits) A systematic study of Plato's Middle and Late Period Dialogues that focuses on his arguments for the existence of abstract objects and the development of Plato's theory of Forms. Prerequisite: At least Junior standing or permission of instructor. PHIL 3003 Plato's Theory of Knowledge (4 Credits) A systematic investigation of Plato's treatments of knowledge throughout the dialogues with a focus on the theory of recollection, Forms as objects of knowledge, the relationship between the Forms and perceptual experience, and the challenges posed by notions of true and false belief. Prerequisites: At least Junior standing or permission of instructor. PHIL 3005 Cosmopolitics (4 Credits) This class will be a close reading of Plato's dialogue Timaeus, with a special focus on the cosmological, theological, and political dimensions of the text. PHIL 3010 Great Thinkers: Aristotle (4 Credits) A study of Aristotle's central theories and doctrines. Prerequisite: junior standing or instructor's permission. PHIL 3011 Great Thinkers: Virginia Woolf (4 Credits) In this course we will read Virginia Woolf as a philosopher. We will discuss her philosophy of nature, knowledge, art, politics, science, sensation, gender, and materialism throughout her fiction and non-fiction writings. PHIL 3023 Great Thinkers: Maimonides: Politics, Prophecy and Providence (4 Credits) Using "The Guide for the Perplexed" as our central text, we explore the complex philosophical ideas of Moses Maimonides (1135-1204), one of the central figures in medieval philosophy and Jewish thought. Our study includes analyses of his ideas on principles of faith, human perfection, intellectual vs.
    [Show full text]
  • The Philosopher-Prophet in Avicenna's Political Philosophy
    The philosopher-prophet in Avicenna's political philosophy Author: James Winston Morris Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/4029 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Published in Political aspects of Islamic philosophy, pp. 152-198 Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons "Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States" (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/) The P~~losopher-Prophet in. AVic~nna's Political Philosophy. Chapter 4 of The PolItICal Aspects of IslamIc PhIlosophy, ed. C. Butterworth, Cambridge Harvard University Press, 1992, pp. 142-188. ' -FOUR- The Philosopher-Prophet in Avicenna~s Political Philosophy James W. Morris With time, human beings tend to take miracles for granted. Perhaps the most lasting and public of all miracles, those to which Islamic philosophers devoted so much of their reflections, were the political achievements of the prophets: how otherwise obscure figures like Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad came to shape the thoughts and actions of so much of civilized humanity. Within the high culture of Islamic civilization, the thought and writings of an itinerant Persian doctor and court administrator we know as Avicenna (370/980~28/1037) came to play a similarly central role: for almost a millenium, each of the tra­ ditions of Islamic thought claiming a wider, universal human validity has appealed either directly to his works or to logical and metaphysical disciplines whose Islamic forms were directly grounded in them. This study considers some of the central philosophic under­ pinnings of that achievement.
    [Show full text]
  • A Glossary of Terms and Concepts in Peace and Conflict Studies
    A GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES AUTHOR: CHRISTOPHER E. MILLER EDITOR: MARY E. KING A GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES SECOND EDITION A GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES AFRICA PROGRAMME © 2005 University for Peace Portions of this publication may be reproduced free of charge provided that the source is acknowledged. Views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University for Peace. ISBN 9977-925-36-4 A GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES The mission of the University for Peace is to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace with the aim of promoting among all human beings a spirit of understanding, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation among peoples, and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and progress in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations. A GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS IN PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES UNIVERSITY FOR PEACE AFRICA PROGRAMME Addis Ababa Office UPEACE Africa Programme Post Office Box 1176 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Telephone: + 251 1 234 026 Email: [email protected] Web: www.africa.upeace.org Geneva Office 5 chemin du Rivage 1292 Chambésy / Geneva, Switzerland Telephone: +41 22 737 30 80 Fax: +41 22 737 30 90 Email: [email protected] Main Campus & Headquarters Post Office Box 138-6100 San José, Costa Rica Telephone: +506 205-9000
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic Philosophy and Politics (The Experience of Interpretation)
    ISSN 2039-2117 (online) Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences Vol 6 No 6 S1 ISSN 2039-9340 (print) MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy November 2015 Islamic Philosophy and Politics (The Experience of Interpretation) Viktor Vasilievich Zheltov Maxim Viktorovich Zheltov Sergey Vladimirovich Birukov Kemerovo State University, Russian Federation, 650043, Kemerovo, Krasnaya Street,6 Doi:10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s1p537 Abstract The article highlights the historical background of the diversity of Islam related to the influence of pre-Islamic culture in different countries, as well as the impact of socio-economic cooperation of Islamic countries with the West. It analytically reveals the phenomenon of Islamization of ancient Greek philosophy as a phenomenon of its adaptation to the realities of the Islamic world showing opportunities of philosophy as a science in the Islamic world, and the role of the Qur'an in the development of philosophy and politics in the Muslim countries. The article touches upon the questions of the role of Islam in the Muslim countries` politics, trans-prospects and building democracy in the Arab world analyzing “The Arab Spring” political legacy and future perspectives of its influence. Keywords: ancient Greek philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islam, Moslem world, the Koran, Revelation, politics, democracy, pluralism 1. Introduction As a rule, the philosophical and political literature says about Islam, as they say in general terms, i.e. as a single doctrine. Meanwhile, there is no single Islam. Political scientists and religious-WIDE Islamic thinkers rightly speak of the existence of: Sunni-ray and Shia Islam; Islam, which are practiced in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Bamako (Mali); version of Islam in Morocco and Indonesia.
    [Show full text]
  • The Analytical-Continental Divide: Styles of Dealing with Problems
    Haverford College Haverford Scholarship Faculty Publications Political Science 2016 The analytical-Continental divide: Styles of dealing with problems Thomas J. Donahue Haverford College, [email protected] Paulina Ochoa Espejo Haverford College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.haverford.edu/polisci_facpubs Repository Citation Donahue J. Thomas, Espejo Ochoa Paulina, (2016). "The analytical-Continental divide: Styles of dealing with problems." European Journal of Political Theory, 15(2):138-154 This Journal Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Political Science at Haverford Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Haverford Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. XML Template (2015) [12.5.2015–3:37pm] [1–17] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/EPTJ/Vol00000/150024/APPFile/SG- EPTJ150024.3d (EPT) [PREPRINTER stage] Article EJPT European Journal of Political Theory 0(0) 1–17 ! The Author(s) 2015 The analytical–Continental Reprints and permissions: divide: Styles of dealing sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1474885115585324 with problems ept.sagepub.com Thomas J. Donahue and Paulina Ochoa Espejo Haverford College, USA Abstract What today divides analytical from Continental philosophy? This paper argues that the present divide is not what it once was. Today, the divide concerns the styles in which philosophers deal with intellectual problems: solving them, pressing them, resolving them, or dissolving them. Using ‘the boundary problem’, or ‘the democratic paradox’, as an example, we argue for two theses. First, the difference between most analytical and most Continental philosophers today is that Continental philosophers find intelligible two styles of dealing with problems that most analytical philosophers find unintelligible: pressing them and resolving them.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Politics 9503A/Philosophy 9119A: Central Problems in Political Theory
    Politics 9503A/Philosophy 9119A: Central Problems in Political Theory September-December 2020 Tuesday Zoom meetings 3:30-5:20 Charles Jones, 661-2111 x85060, [email protected], SSC 4129 Zoom Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:30-3:00 & by appointment This course examines some central problems in political theory: political authority, property and the market, distributive justice and equality, liberty, and democracy. We will study both classic works and recent scholarship on these issues. By the end of the course, students will be able to: (1) Describe the problem of political authority and explain (and evaluate) the main arguments in its favour, (2) Assess the case for and against private property rights, (3) Explain the pros and cons of markets in goods and services as a means of organizing an economy, (4) Describe the problem of distributive justice (‘who should get what?’) and explain the relative merits of competing approaches to this problem, (5) Evaluate the value of equality and sufficiency as competing goals of just distribution, (6) Explain the arguments on both sides of the debate between distributive egalitarians and relational egalitarians in their answers to the question, ‘What is the point of equality?’, (7) Identify the competing conceptions of liberty in the history of political theory and adjudicate between them, (8) Evaluate the case for and against ‘libertarian paternalism’ as an approach to public policy, and (9) Outline the most important arguments against and for democracy as a form of public and private decision-making. Texts Course readings will be posted on the OWL site. There is one book to purchase: Elizabeth Anderson, Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don’t Talk about it), Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017.
    [Show full text]
  • SCIENTIFIC AUTHORITY: an Epistemic Proceduralist Framework for the Legitimate Authority of Science in Environmental Policy
    SCIENTIFIC AUTHORITY: An Epistemic Proceduralist Framework For The Legitimate Authority Of Science In Environmental Policy by MATTHEW EVAN HELLER B.S., Warren Wilson College 2004 M.A., Lehigh University 2007 M.A., University of Colorado 2010 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science 2015 This thesis entitled: Scientific Authority: An epistemic proceduralist framework for the legitimate authority of science in environmental policy written by Matthew Evan Heller has been approved for the Department of Political Science Steve Vanderheiden Michaele Ferguson Horst Mewes Roger Pielke, Jr. David Mapel Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. iii Heller, Matthew Evan (Ph.D., Political Science) SCIENTIFIC AUTHORITY: An Epistemic Proceduralist Framework For The Legitimate Authority Of Science In Environmental Policy Dissertation directed by Associate Professor Steve Vanderheiden The formation and implementation of effective environmental policies by Western liberal democracies are frequently hindered by disagreement over the appropriate role of scientific knowledge. In my dissertation, I argue this obstruction is resolved by recognizing the legitimate authority of science in environmental policy-making. Drawing on David Estlund’s epistemic proceduralist theory of democracy, I demonstrate the compatibility of the authority of scientific knowledge claims about the cause and effect relationships of the biophysical world in environmental policy-making with our normative expectations for the justifications of democratic governance.
    [Show full text]
  • Epistemic Authority and Its Critics
    EPISTEMIC AUTHORITY AND ITS CRITICS LINDA ZAGZEBSKI University of Oklahoma The purpose of Epistemic Authority1 is to defend the rationality of belief on authority from the modern assumption that the ultimate authority over the self is the self. More specifically, the strategy is to show that traditional epistemic authority, including the teaching authority of institutions such as the Catholic Church, can be justified even if we accept the modern value of autonomy. The book begins with a brief historical and philosophical investigation of the rejection of epistemic authority, particularly as it is arises from the ideal of epistemic self-reliance. I argue that although that ideal dominates much of contemporary discourse, it cannot be defended from the work of Plato, Descartes, Locke, or Kant, and that the epistemological and moral arguments for self-reliance are weak. I then turn to an extended argument that the conscientiously self-reflective person is committed to authority in the realm of belief. I argue that epistemic (and emotional) self-trust is both rational and inescapable, that consistent epistemic self- trust commits us to trust in others, and that some of those others satisfy conditions for epistemic authority modelled on Joseph Raz’s well-known theses of political authority. I apply epistemic authority to authority in communities, defend epistemic authority in the domains of morality and religion, and argue that the account of epistemic authority I give shows that epistemic authority is compatible with intellectual autonomy. Believing on authority is a demand of conscientious self-governance. It is not only compatible with autonomy, but follows from it.
    [Show full text]
  • Authority, Legitimacy and Epistemic Accounts of Democratic Law
    Authority, Legitimacy and Epistemic Accounts of Democratic Law: Estlund vs. Habermas Jonathan Trejo-Mathys ABSTRACT: David Estlund has recently articulated the most sophisticated form of epistemic proceduralism available in Anglophone legal and political philosophy, one that grants that there are normative political truths and that some possess superior knowledge of them but defeats the claim that superior knowledge can successfully confer legislative authority. In the course of his argument, he charges Habermas’ rival version of proceduralism with ‘political nihilism’. The first two sections of this paper show that this charge is false and based upon a misunderstanding of Habermas and that it obscures the fact that Habermas provides a potentially stronger form of epistemic proceduralism that defeats the claim that those who know should rule by undermining the very idea that there could be some who possess superior normative political knowledge. The third section discusses a weak point in Habermas’ justification of coercive democratic law that is revealed in the course of the defense and suggests a Kantian way of remedying it. Trejo-Mathys 1 Epistemic Accounts of Democratic Authority and Legitimacy: Estlund vs. Habermas1 Epistemic views of democracy defend its legitimacy, or stronger, its authority in light of the epistemic virtues that the democratic process displays with respect to tracking some normative standard such as justice or the common good, however those are understood. They involve the belief that the truth about such matters, and in particular a sufficiently strong and effective tendency to pursue and discover it, is a necessary part of the justification of political authority and the legitimacy of the norms issued by such authority.
    [Show full text]
  • Justification of Political Authority in Theological(Islamic) Epistemology
    JISMOR 5 JISMOR 5 Justification of Political Authority in Theological(Islamic) Epistemology Mojtaba Zarvani Abstract The political views of the speculative theologians have been more abstraction and justification of the events of the age rather than an issue resulting from their scholastic theological geometry. “In other words, in the field of politics, the speculative theology [not only today, but also always] has been a sort of filling the gap and resurfacing the work”. In order to prove this argument, we will show a process during which from the early days of Islam up to Ghazzali, gradually the monitoring elements which challenge the authority of the Islamic ruler became fade. Moreover, the speculative theologians in their political views gradually reach to a point in which they consider a ruler with no specific features qualified to serve as a judge. That is to say, the authoritative nature of the Abbasid government, which according to many thinkers is the heritage of imitation from the Iranian and Sāsānid traditions made a situation that even the Ash’arits thinker who used to consider the return to the age of The rightly Guided Caliphs as a Utopia, mutilated and made a selection out of the traditions of the holy prophet and the caliphs. Keywords: political authority, kalām, epistemology Foreword This research has taken form round a problem rather than a subject. Therefore, the appropriate statement of the issue and faithfulness to it has been emphasized. The difficulty of conducting research by a researcher who is so naive in such kind of experiences is clear to everybody.
    [Show full text]
  • Utilitarianism and Beyond: Contemporary Analytical Political Theory David Miller
    University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Political Science Faculty Publications Political Science 2006 Utilitarianism and Beyond: Contemporary Analytical Political Theory David Miller Richard Dagger University of Richmond, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/polisci-faculty-publications Part of the Political Theory Commons Recommended Citation Miller, David, and Richard Dagger. "Utilitarianism and Beyond: Contemporary Analytical Political Theory." In The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought, edited by Terence Ball and Richard Bellamy, 446-70. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the Political Science at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 21 Utilitarianism and beyond: contemporary analytical political theory david miller and richard dagger General features In this chapter we sketch a body of political thought that became predom- inant in the second half of the twentieth century among academic politi- cal philosophers, primarily in the English-speaking world, but increasingly elsewhere, too. To call this type of political thought ‘analytical’ may not be particularly revealing, but no other term better describes the movement in question. Sometimes ‘liberal political theory’ is used, and there is in- deed a close connection between analytical theory and liberalism. But that label is in one way too broad and in another too narrow for this kind of political thinking: too broad because liberalism has assumed many different philosophical guises in the course of a history much longer than that of our subject; and too narrow because those who engage in this kind of political theory use methods of analysis and techniques of argument that are not confined to liberals.
    [Show full text]