The Illusions Of Egalitarianism

Author : John Kekes
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 244 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 080147339X

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The Illusions of Egalitarianism by John Kekes Pdf

In this systematic and scathing attack on the dominant contemporary version of liberalism, John Kekes challenges political assumptions shared by the majority of people in Western societies. Egalitarianism, as it's widely known, holds that a government ought to treat all citizens with equal consideration. Kekes charges that belief in egalitarianism rests on illusions that prevent people from facing unpleasant truths.Kekes, a major voice in modern political thought, argues that differences among human beings in the areas of morality, reasonability, legality, and citizenship are too important for governance to ignore. In a rigorous criticism of prominent egalitarian thinkers, including Dworkin, Nagel, Nussbaum, Rawls, Raz, and Singer, Kekes charges that their views present a serious threat to both morality and reason. For Kekes, certain "inegalitarian truths" are obvious: people should get what they deserve, those who are good and those who are evil should not be treated as if they had the same moral worth, people should not be denied what they have earned in order to benefit those who have not earned it, and individuals should be held responsible for their actions. His provocative book will compel many readers to question their faith in liberalism.

Author : David Cooper
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2010-02-25
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781135171162

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Illusions of Equality (International Library of the Philosophy of Education Volume 7) by David Cooper Pdf

Educational policy and discussion, in Britain and the USA, are increasingly dominated by the confused ideology of egalitarianism. David E. Cooper begins by identifying the principles hidden among the confusions, and argues that these necessarily conflict with the ideal of educational excellence - in which conflict it is this ideal that must be preserved. He goes on to criticize the use of education as a tool for promoting wider social equality, focussing especially on the muddles surrounding 'equal opportunities', 'social mix' and 'reverse discrimination'. Further chapters criticize the 'new egalitarianism' favoured, on epistemological grounds, by various sociologists of knowledge in recent years and 'cultural egalitarianism' according to which standard criteria of educational value merely reflect parochial and economic interests.

Author : David Edward Cooper
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 1980
Category : Discrimination in education
ISBN : 0203860977

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Illusions of Equality by David Edward Cooper Pdf

Author : John Kekes
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2018-10-18
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781501721878

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Against Liberalism by John Kekes Pdf

Liberalism is doomed to failure, John Kekes argues in this penetrating criticism of its basic assumptions. Liberals favor individual autonomy, a wide plurality of choices, and equal rights and resources, seeing them as essential for good lives. They oppose such evils as selfishness, intolerance, cruelty, and greed. Yet the more autonomy, equality, and pluralism there is, Kekes contends, the greater is the scope for evil. According to Kekes, liberalism is inconsistent because the conditions liberals regard as essential for good lives actually foster the very evils liberals want to avoid, and avoiding those evils depends on conditions contrary to the ones liberals favor. Kekes argues further that the liberal conceptions of equality, justice, and pluralism require treating good and evil people with equal respect, distributing resources without regard to what recipients deserve, and restricting choices to those that conform to liberal preconceptions. All these policies are detrimental to good lives. Kekes concludes that liberalism cannot cope with the prevalence of evil, that it is vitiated by inconsistent commitments, and that—contrary to its aim—liberalism is an obstacle to good lives.

Author : Murray Newton Rothbard
Publisher : Ludwig von Mises Institute
Page : 354 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Libertarianism
ISBN : 9781610164627

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Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature and Other Essays by Murray Newton Rothbard Pdf

Author : Anthony O'Hear
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0521695597

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Political Philosophy by Anthony O'Hear Pdf

Collection of essays covering a wide range of topics in political philosophy, first published in 2007.

Author : Zina O′Leary
Publisher : SAGE
Page : 345 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2007-09-17
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781849203432

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The Social Science Jargon Buster by Zina O′Leary Pdf

- Are you confused by academic jargon? - Do you know your `discourse′ from your `dialectic′? - Can you tell the difference between `anomie′ and `alienation′? The Social Science Jargon Buster tackles the most confusing concepts in the social sciences, breaking each down and bringing impressive clarity and insight to even the most complex terms. `This book successfully addresses the central task for any teacher of social theory - how to make the material accessible without making it simplistic and banal. The overall effect is a most effective text that hard-pressed students and lecturers will grab with both hands′ - Dave Harris, Senior Lecturer in Social Science This practical, down-to-earth dictionary will help students new to social science discourse gain a thorough understanding of the key terms. Each entry includes a concise core definition, a more detailed explanation and an introduction to the associated debates and controversies. In addition, students will find a useful outline of the practical application of each term, as well as a list of key figures and recommendations for futher reading. This dictionary brings a refreshing clarity to social science discourse, making it essential reading for all students on undergraduate social science courses.

Author : G. A. Cohen
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 251 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2009-07-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780674029668

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If You're an Egalitarian, How Come You’re So Rich? by G. A. Cohen Pdf

This book presents G. A. Cohen's Gifford Lectures, delivered at the University of Edinburgh in 1996. Focusing on Marxism and Rawlsian liberalism, Cohen draws a connection between these thought systems and the choices that shape a person's life. In the case of Marxism, the relevant life is his own: a communist upbringing in the 1940s in Montreal, which induced a belief in a strongly socialist egalitarian doctrine. The narrative of Cohen's reckoning with that inheritance develops through a series of sophisticated engagements with the central questions of social and political philosophy. In the case of Rawlsian doctrine, Cohen looks to people's lives in general. He argues that egalitarian justice is not only, as Rawlsian liberalism teaches, a matter of rules that define the structure of society, but also a matter of personal attitude and choice. Personal attitude and choice are, moreover, the stuff of which social structure itself is made. Those truths have not informed political philosophy as much as they should, and Cohen's focus on them brings political philosophy closer to moral philosophy, and to the Judeo-Christian ethical tradition, than it has recently been.

Author : Andrzej Bryk
Publisher : Oficyna Wydawnicza AFM Krakowskie Towarzystwo Edukacyjne Sp. z o.o.
Page : 378 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2009-04-09
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Krakowskie Studia Międzynarodowe 2009/2 by Andrzej Bryk Pdf

Introduction: Virtus nobilitat Andrzej Bryk: Harvey Mansfield and Virtue in the Arid Land of Modern Liberalism Andrzej Bryk: Whence Virtue? Whence Justice? Whence Morality? America and Modernity Wilfred M. McClay: The Soul of a Nation: American Civil Religion After 9/11 Chantal Delsol: Tocqueville and Pantheism Robert P. Kraynak: The Relation of Christianity and Liberal Democracy in America Gerard V. Bradley: The Audacity of Faith Rogers M. Smith: Religion and America’s Politics of Peoplehood Richard Gamble: Religion and Politics in the Shining City: How the “Winthrop Message” Became the “Reagan Message” Michael Zuckert: Thinkin’ about Lincoln Peter Augustine Lawler: Building Better then They Knew: John Courtney’s Murray’s American, Catholic View of the True Foundation of Our Country Catherine H. Zuckert: Leo Strauss: Fascist, Authoritarian, Imperialist? Mark Blitz: Hegel and Progressivism Jeremy Rabkin: Personal Honor, National Honor and International Justice Hieronim Kubiak: Religious Motivations for Work Ethics. The American Case ARCHIVE Irving Kristol: On the Character of the American Political Order About Authors

Author : John Samples
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 391 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2008-09-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226734637

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The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform by John Samples Pdf

At first glance, campaign finance reform looks like a good idea. McCain-Feingold, for instance, regulates campaigns by prohibiting national political parties from accepting soft money contributions from corporations, labor unions, and wealthy individuals. But are such measures, or any of the numerous and similarly restrictive proposals that have circulated through Washington in recent years, really good for our democracy? John Samples says no, and here he takes a penetrating look into the premises and consequences of the long crusade against big money in politics. How many Americans, he asks, know that there is little to no evidence that campaign contributions really influence members of Congress? Or that so-called negative political advertising actually improves the democratic process by increasing voter turnout and knowledge? Or that limits on campaign contributions make it harder to run for office, thereby protecting incumbent representatives from losing their seats of power? Posing tough questions such as these, Samples uncovers numerous fallacies beneath proposals for campaign finance reform. He argues that our most common concerns about money in politics are misplaced because the ideals implicit in our notion of corruption are incoherent or indefensible. The chance to regulate money in politics allows representatives to serve their own interests at a cost to their constituents. And, ironically, this long crusade against the corruption caused by campaign contributions allows public officials to reduce their vulnerability by suppressing electoral competition. Defying long-held ssumptions and conventional political wisdom, The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform is a provocative and decidedly nonpartisan work that will be essential for anyone concerned about the future of American government.

Author : Ellen Frankel Paul,Fred D. Miller (Jr.),Jeffrey Paul
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2006-08-14
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0521685990

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Taxation, Economic Prosperity, and Distributive Justice: Volume 23, Part 2 by Ellen Frankel Paul,Fred D. Miller (Jr.),Jeffrey Paul Pdf

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Author : David Cooper
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 142 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2010-02-25
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781135171179

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Illusions of Equality (International Library of the Philosophy of Education Volume 7) by David Cooper Pdf

Educational policy and discussion, in Britain and the USA, are increasingly dominated by the confused ideology of egalitarianism. David E. Cooper begins by identifying the principles hidden among the confusions, and argues that these necessarily conflict with the ideal of educational excellence - in which conflict it is this ideal that must be preserved. He goes on to criticize the use of education as a tool for promoting wider social equality, focussing especially on the muddles surrounding 'equal opportunities', 'social mix' and 'reverse discrimination'. Further chapters criticize the 'new egalitarianism' favoured, on epistemological grounds, by various sociologists of knowledge in recent years and 'cultural egalitarianism' according to which standard criteria of educational value merely reflect parochial and economic interests.

Author : Jeremy Waldron
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 221 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2017-06-19
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780674978843

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One Another's Equals by Jeremy Waldron Pdf

This enlightening inquiry into the nature of human equality reveals the vital importance of this basic Western principle—“an important new book” (Robert B. Reich, New York Times Book Review). An enduring theme of Western philosophy is that we are all one another’s equals. Yet the principle of basic equality is woefully under-explored in modern moral and political philosophy. In a major new work, Jeremy Waldron attempts to remedy that shortfall with a subtle and multifaceted account of the basis for the West’s commitment to human equality. Waldron argues that there is no single characteristic that serves as the basis of equality. Instead, the case for moral equality rests on four capacities that all humans have the potential to possess in some degree: reason, autonomy, moral agency, and the ability to love. But how should we regard the differences that people display on these various dimensions? Waldron, who has specialized in the nature of equality for many years, confronts these questions and others fully and unflinchingly. Based on the Gifford Lectures that he delivered at the University of Edinburgh in 2015, One Another’s Equals takes Waldron’s thinking further and deeper than ever before.

Author : Manuel Knoll,Stephen Snyder,Nurdane Şimsek
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 573 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2018-11-19
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783110536201

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New Perspectives on Distributive Justice by Manuel Knoll,Stephen Snyder,Nurdane Şimsek Pdf

Distributive justice is one of the most discussed topics in political philosophy. Focusing on the plurality of irreconcilable conceptions of social and political justice, this book presents an array of new perspectives on the topic. Bringing together 30 original essays of well-established and young international scholars, the volume is essential reading for anyone interested in social and political justice.

Author : David Estlund
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 456 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2012-05-21
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780199704057

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The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy by David Estlund Pdf

Even though political philosophy has a long tradition, it is much more than the study of old and great treatises. Contemporary philosophers continue to press new arguments on old and timeless questions, but also to propose departures and innovations. The field changes over time, and new work inevitably responds both to events in the world and to the directions of thought itself. This volume includes 22 new pieces by leaders in the field on both perennial and emerging topics of keen interest to contemporary political philosophers. In addition to longstanding issues such as Authority, Equality, and Freedom, and Democracy, there are articles on less classical topics such as Race, Historical Injustice, Deliberation, Money and Politics, Global Justice, and Ideal and Non-Ideal Theory. All of the pieces combine clarity and accessibility with a top scholar's critical and original point of view. The introductory essay briefly situates this snapshot of the state of the art in a broader view of developments in political philosophy in the last 40 years, and looks forward to future developments. Students and scholars alike will find the pieces to be valuable not only surveys but as provocations to think further about the questions, puzzles, and practical problems that animate recent work in political philosophy. The issues will be of interest to many working in philosophy, political science, law, economics, and more.