Against Perfectionism: Defending Liberal Neutrality - Softcover

Lecce, Steven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802094473 ISBN 13: 9780802094476

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 2008

Synopsis

In a democracy, political authority should be determined independently of religious, philosophical, and ethical ideals that often divide us. This idea, called liberal neutrality, challenges one of the oldest insights of the Western philosophical tradition in politics. At least since Plato, the concept of perfectionism has insisted that statecraft is akin to "soulcraft," and political questions about the justification of state power have followed from ethical questions about what is valuable in life and about how we should live if we are to live well.

Against Perfectionism defends neutralist liberalism as the most appropriate political morality for democratic societies. Steven Lecce investigates the theoretical foundations of liberalism, bringing together classic and contemporary arguments about the implications of pluralism for liberal equality. He surveys three classic debates over the grounds and limits of tolerance, and investigates the limits of perfectionism as a guide to law and public policy in pluralist societies. Lecce ultimately suggests a version of neutrality that answers the critiques recently leveled against it as a political ideal. Presenting sophisticated and groundbreaking arguments, Against Perfectionism is a call to rethink current concepts of law and public policy in democratic societies.

About this title

About the Author

Steven Lecce is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Manitoba.

From the Back Cover

'This is a first-rate work of political theory that recovers and forcefully defends neutralism against contemporary criticisms. Steve Lecce provides a comprehensive overview of the relevant literature, and makes an interesting defence of liberal neutrality as an approach to fundamental political philosophy. Against Perfectionism adds a new dimension to debates between liberal and non-liberal political theorists, and should be of interest to advanced undergraduates, research students, and scholars.'-Paul Kelly, Professor of Political Theory, London School of Economics

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802094473
• ISBN 13: 9780802094476
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352