Social and Political Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction

Description

This accessible book is invaluable to anyone coming to social and political philosophy for the first time. It provides a broad survey of key social and political questions in modern society, as well as clear discussions of the philosophical issues central to those questions and to political thought more generally. Unique among books of this kind is a sustained treatment of specifically social philosophy, including topics such as epistemic injustice, pornography, marriage, sexuality, and the family. The relation between such social questions and specifically political topics is discussed. These topics include: political authority, economic justice, the limits of tolerance, considerations of community, race, gender, and culture in questions of justice, and radical critiques of current political theories. Updates to the Second Edition emphasize the non-statist areas of the subject and include two brand new chapters on social philosophy and transnational justice. This Second Edition also includes revisions throughout and coverage of recent theoretical discussions and world events. Cover Title Copyright Contents Preface and Acknowledgments 1 Introduction The Liberal Democratic Paradigm Preliminaries I: Method Preliminaries II: Moral Theory and Political Philosophy Structure of the Book Notes on Further Reading 2 Social Philosophy and the Road to the Political What Is Social Philosophy? Critical Social Hermeneutics Social Context and the Role of Social Criticism A Selection of Issues in Social Philosophy Epistemic Injustice Pornography Feminist Anti-Pornography as Social Critique Marriage, Gender, and the Family From Social Criticism to Political Philosophy Chapter Summary Case to Consider Notes on Further Reading Part I Basic Issues within the Liberal Paradigm 3 The Problem of Political Authority The Social Contract Tradition Hobbes’s Social Contract: Mechanism, Egoism, and Rationality Contemporary Hobbesianism Locke: Reason, Morality, and Freedom Contemporary Lockeanism Lessons from Rousseau and Kant From Consent to Legitimacy Chapter Summary Case to Consider Notes on Further Reading 4 Distributive Justice Distributive Justice and Equality The Chimerical Allure of an Equal Opportunity Principle Libertarianism The Self-Ownership Argument for Capitalist Property Rights Libertarianism Based on Liberty Alone Utilitarian Approaches to Economic Justice Rawlsian Distributive Justice Varieties of Egalitarianism From Equality to the Welfare State Chapter Summary Case to Consider Notes on Further Reading 5 Toleration, Pluralism, and the Foundations of Liberalism The Canons of Liberalism Liberalism and Neutrality The Perfectionist Challenge Utilitarian Liberalism: Perfectionism in Disguise? The Response of Political Liberalism Liberalism, Public Discourse, and Democracy Chapter Summary Case to Consider Notes on Further Reading Part II Critique of the Liberal Paradigm: Challenges and Departures 6 Conservatism, Communitarianism, and the Social Conception of the Self Conservatism Communitarianism The Communitarian Critique of the Liberal Self The Social Self and Value Commitments Liberalism and the Breakdown of Communities Communitarianism as a Positive Alternative to Liberalism Chapter Summary Case to Consider Notes on Further Reading 7 Race and the Politics of Identity Ideal Theory and Ongoing Injustice Critical Race Theory What Is Racism, What Is Race? Racism and the Structure of Liberalism Liberalism, Freedom, and Culture Chapter Summary Case to Consider Notes on Further Reading 8 Feminism, Gender, and Sexuality Feminism Liberal Feminism and Its Limits Public and Private Justice and Care Departures from Liberalism: Gender, Culture, and Identity Formation Further Departures: The Feminist Critique of Objectivity and Reason Sexuality and Gender Identity Transgender Persons and Fluidity of Identity Identity, Injustice, and Democracy Chapter Summary Case to Consider Notes on Further Reading 9 Radical Critique: Marxism and Post-Modernism The Legacy of Marx and Marxism Historical Materialism Ideology Capitalism, Alienation, and Exploitation Marxism and Justice Post-Modern Departures The Fragmented Self Rejecting the Language of Universal Principles Chapter Summary Case to Consider Notes on Further Reading 10 Beyond the Nation State: Issues in Transnational Justice Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism Human Rights Global Justice Generally Injustice and Borders: Immigration Chapter Summary Case to Consider Notes on Further Reading Epilogue: The Hope of Liberalism Bibliography Index