Wenz, P. S. (209). Beyond Red and Blue: How twelve political philosophies shape American debates. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press.
from page 9
all of the descriptions are that the state should promote....
| component philosophy |
state will promote: |
| Theocracy | values of a particular religion |
| Natural law | laws that reflect what is natural for humans and consistent with the proper role of humanity on Earth |
| Libertarianism | maximum individual liberty while protecting life and property rights |
| Utilitarianism | greatest happiness or preference satisfaction |
| Free-market conservatism | maximum economic growth |
| Contractarianism | protect individual liberty and economic growth while maximizing benefits to the poorest and most vulnerable |
| Social conservatism | preserve and protect social, political, and religious traditions that have served well in the past |
| Feminism | no person is disadvantaged for being female <over simp> |
| Multiculturalism | recognition that no one culture holds all the keys to human flourishing and shold therefore tolerate or promote cultural diversity |
| Environmentalism | protection of people and other species from unnecessary environmental degradation |
| Communitarianism | bonds of community over tendencies to excessive individualism |
| Cosmopolitanism | support for certain universal values and norms |
Example case studies that show how these are brought into play and how they conflict.
The cahpter is about the development of New London and using eminent domain to take peoples' property to use for a development project that includes other housing (not to build a road, etc.).
free-market conservative - makes sense to do this because it increases wealth
libertariansim - government has no right to take their land if they don't want to sell
contract-- need to protect the vulnerable (i.e. hold-out homeowners)
libertarians and contractarians agreed although one is usually for small and the other big government
environmentalism wanted smart growth (compact with transit) and the new development provided this - so they were in agreement with free-market conservatives
Should we allow Pre-emplantation Genetic Diagnosis for any reasons such as identify genetic disorders or for sex-selection?
Libertarian
yes - parents have the right to genetically engineer their children and select sex
Utilitarian
Communitarian
- Michael Sandel
- shared commitment to social excellence, not just individual excellence
- genetic endowments are a matter of chance, can take credit for effort but not endowments
- attempt of society to master nature (coincides with environmental)
Contractarianism
- also relies on ignorance of fate to make society fair
Environmental
- Bill McKibben
- value and appreciate diversity (and nature) rather than discontent and modification
- relies on disgust for rejecting genetic engineering lacks rational grounding
Natural Law
Social Conservative
- Francis Fukuyama
- could deprive humanity of its social compass
- genetic engineering will try to simplify human nature and remove complexity for natural ends and purposes
- rely on emotions of disgust to protect us from innovations that could upset the social equilibrium
- disgust is the emotion that expresses deep reason beyond reason's ability to articulate it
Chapter 13 - Immigration