| Foundations of Liberalism Contributor(s): Moore, Margaret (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0198273851 ISBN-13: 9780198273851 Publisher: Clarendon Press OUR PRICE: $223.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: May 1993 Annotation: This book is an original critique of contemporary liberal theories of justice, focusing on the problem of how to relate the personal point of view of the individual to the impartial perspective of justice. Margaret Moore's examination of prominent contemporary arguments for liberal justice reveals that individualist theories are subject to two serious difficulties: the motivation problem and the integrity problem. Individualists cannot explain why the individual should be motivated to act in accordance with the dictates of liberal justice, and - related to this - offer radically incoherent accounts of the person. Revisionist liberal attempts to ground liberalism in contextual and perfectionist terms offer more defensible foundations, but Dr Moore argues that such theories do not support liberal political principles. She concludes by sketching a historical and concrete approach to political and ethical theorizing which reformulates the relation between self-interest and morality, and is not subject to the problems that beset liberal individualist theories of justice. Her book advances the debate between communitarians and liberals about the kind of moral foundation which a liberal society requires. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism - Political Science | History & Theory - General - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - General |
| Dewey: 320.513 |
| LCCN: 92022186 |
| Lexile Measure: 1680 |
| Physical Information: 0.69" H x 5.5" W x 8.5" (0.99 lbs) 232 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book is an original critique of contemporary liberal theories of justice, focusing on the problem of how to relate the personal point of view of the individual to the impartial perspective of justice. Moore's examination of prominent contemporary arguments for liberal justice reveals that individualist theories are subject to two serious difficulties: the motivation problem and the integrity problem. Individualists cannot explain why the individual should be motivated to act in accordance with the dictates of liberal justice, and--related to this--offer radically incoherent accounts of the person. Revisionist attempts to ground liberalism in contextual and perfectionist terms offer more defensible foundations, but Moore argues that such theories do not support liberal political principles. She concludes by sketching a historical and concrete approach to political and ethical theorizing which reformulates the relation between self-interest and morality, and is not subject to the problems that beset liberal individualist theories of justice. Her book advances the debate between communitarians and liberals about the kind of moral foundation which a liberal society requires. |