Liberalism and Pluralism : The Politics of E Pluribus Unum

This book expands the idea of practical liberalism by exploring how a theory of civil association premised upon prudential argument can remain stable through time. The work initially explores the relation between politics and morality and demonstrates how it is possible to craft a theory of social justice that can (and not merely should) command the attention of all groups present in a pluralist polity. The argument then moves to a consideration of how the resultant notion of social justice can support a civic nationalism capable of uniting the diverse elements of the polity into a coherent polity. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 Practical Liberalism......Page 16 Civil Unity and Social Diversity: The Politics of E pluribus unum......Page 23 1 Politics, Morality, and Pluralism......Page 28 Liberal Morality and Political Legitimacy......Page 29 Political Legitimacy and Social Justice......Page 32 Williams's Concept of the Political......Page 39 Legitimacy, Stability, and Morality......Page 42 2 The Politics of Morality......Page 48 A Moral Point of View......Page 49 Manners and Morality......Page 54 Morality and Conflict......Page 59 Moral Conflict and Political Theory......Page 63 3 The Morality of Politics......Page 66 Feminism and Multiculturalism......Page 68 A Defense of Culture......Page 72 Politics and Normative Conflict......Page 75 The Political as Moral Viewpoint......Page 79 Morality and Politics: A Review......Page 82 4 Political Unity and Pluralism......Page 88 The Liberal Archipelago......Page 91 Loose Linkage and Political Legitimacy......Page 94 Political Unity and the Body Politic......Page 98 Social Justice and Political Unity......Page 103 The Bonds of Civility......Page 108 5 Nationhood and the Liberal Polity......Page 112 The Nature of Nationhood......Page 115 Pluralism and Nationalism......Page 122 Civic Nationalism and Social Justice......Page 130 Deliberative Democracy and the Liberal Polity......Page 135 6 Liberalism and Democracy......Page 140 Democracy and Deliberative Discourse......Page 143 The Terms of Deliberative Discourse......Page 147 Normative Discourse and Political Legitimacy......Page 150 Deliberative Democracy and Intragroup Politics......Page 155 Group Autonomy and Intergroup Discourse......Page 161 7 Politics, History, and Reason......Page 166 Principle and Justice in the Liberal Polity......Page 169 Liberal Institutions and Liberal Ideals......Page 173 Stopping History......Page 178 Rationalism and Politics......Page 181 Notes......Page 188 Index......Page 208 This book expands the idea of practical liberalism by exploring how a theory of civil association premised upon prudential argument can remain stable through time. The work explores the relation between politics and morality and crafts a theory of social justice that can command the attention of all groups present in a pluralist polity.