Introduction Flashcards
(16 cards)
Political theory
Study of how we live together in society. Study for relationships, how to make society more effective. Many dimensions, relationships between people and institutions within state boundaries, relations between states on international stage. Seek out the truth
Normative thinking
Thinking in terms of how things, persons, society and the world ought (should) be. Aims to change the world. Compel relativist thinking. Reference to values. has to be tied to the world. Takes the world as it is and asks how it can be better
Descriptive thinking
How persons, society and the world actually are. mirrors the world.
Relativism
Values/practices justified by reference to them, fundamentally differ from place and culture. no value-related practices that have universal legitimacy, np value-related practices which require people in all places and culture
Distributive justice
conditions to which the principles apply are moderate scarcity of goods
political problems found in real world
all theories are relative to particular cultures and traditions, arguments draw on values, arguments in political theory can be sound only in cultural context
moral imperatives are such that people and states will not comply with them. Political theory redundant as a guide to political by practice
Arguments assume idealized conditions which do not exist in the real world, political theory is utopian
JS MILL
child slavery- not speaking out is uglier than war. war is ugly, there are things uglier than war. Decay and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling who think nothing is worse than war.
global relations
should we have started or not, global state, scope of political theory, why we care about boundaries, treat people of the generations, what we owe to other generations, future generations are the most vulnerable, how to react and intervene
state-personal relations
why democracy. state-power legitimate or illegitimate in what context. Military service- mandatory by government or not, associate with tax (take money and put it in something you don’t believe in) interfering with family, enough or not enough, best way to hold power, why is it valuable.
interpersonal relations
building a well. how to defend against others, circumstances, means, limits on how we treat each other, unequal standing (children, ill). living together
normative political theory
articulation and defence of ideals (equality, democracy, justice). Distribute collective benefits and burdens of living in a political society
problems with relativism
because there is a diversity of practices n the world does not mean that there are no practices across all contexts, they might just not be discovered
self defeating conclusion
binding requirement to engage in a practice which denies existence of its premises
3 ways to read the claim that human nature blocks requirements delivered by political and moral theory
if political theory delivers requirements that is logically, conceptually and nomologically impossible to satisfy (change the past) theory would be redundant
people do not know what they ought to do- greed, laziness, fear, ignorance none are sufficient to defeat a requirement that they behave otherwise
to expect any political theory simply to mound its requirements to what people will in fact do you;d be to deprive political theory of any racial and progressive potential.
Basic defiance or weakness will
being able to bring yourself to do something does not mean you cannot do it
Salience
humans live on a bounded planet with limited resources, nowhere else to go. how humans relate to the environment. humans are divided into two sexes, how the sexes relate to each other, power of men over women. humans are part of a chain of generations vulnerable to present generation stretching back and fourth. Inequality and effects of power on human social and political relations, how power can be exercised over people
