Public Philosophy
Essays on Morality in Politics
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- $28.99
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- $28.99
Publisher Description
In this book, Michael Sandel takes up some of the hotly contested moral and political issues of our time, including affirmative action, assisted suicide, abortion, gay rights, stem cell research, the meaning of toleration and civility, the gap between rich and poor, the role of markets, and the place of religion in public life. He argues that the most prominent ideals in our political life--individual rights and freedom of choice--do not by themselves provide an adequate ethic for a democratic society. Sandel calls for a politics that gives greater emphasis to citizenship, community, and civic virtue, and that grapples more directly with questions of the good life. Liberals often worry that inviting moral and religious argument into the public sphere runs the risk of intolerance and coercion. These essays respond to that concern by showing that substantive moral discourse is not at odds with progressive public purposes, and that a pluralist society need not shrink from engaging the moral and religious convictions that its citizens bring to public life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Investigating the ways in which morality and politics intersect, Sandel (Democracy's Discontent) considers both the hot-button issues of contemporary political life abortion, homosexuality, Clinton's bad behavior and the weighty arguments of political philosophers from Kant to Rawls. He does so in essays that have been published over many years in both general audience venues and scholarly publications. The use of previously published essays makes for some repetition, and not all of his styles and approaches work effectively. The opening chapter, a historical overview of American public philosophy, explains in ponderous generalities "how the aspiration to neutrality finds prominent expression in our politics and law." But the later essays are better written. Some, such as "Honor and Resentment," an essay on whether a wheelchair-bound girl has the right to cheerlead, are short and sprightly. Others, like "The Procedural Republic and the Unencumbered Self," are long and incisive. Uniting the book are a few common themes: the importance of community, the insufficiency of individual rights as a basis for a democratic society and the need for political arguments to engage with questions of morality. All in all, this is an effective, though sometimes lumpy, blend of the wonky and the philosophical.
