Morality and Politics: Volume 21, Part 1 (Social Philosophy and Policy) (v. 21)

"Complicating the ancient debate over the intersection of morality and politics are diverse definitions of fundamental concepts: the right and the good, virtue and vice, personal liberty and public interest. Divisions abound, also, about whether politics should be held to a higher moral standard or whether pragmatic considerations or realpolitik should prevail. Perhaps the two poles are represented most conspicuously by Aristotle and Machiavelli. These essays address perennial concerns in political and moral theory and underscore the rekindled yearning of many to hold the political realm to a higher standard despite the skepticism of dissenters who question the likelihood or even the desirability of success."--Jacket

Divisions abound as to whether politics should be held responsible to a higher moral standard or whether pragmatic considerations, or realpolitik, should prevail. The two poles are represented most conspicuously by Aristotle (for whom the proper aim of politics is moral virtue) and Machiavelli (whose prince exalted political pragmatism over morality). The fourteen contributions to this volume address perennial concerns in political and moral theory. They underscore the rekindled yearning of many to hold the political realm to a higher standard despite the skepticism of dissenters who question the likelihood, or even the desirability, of success.

Divisions abound about whether politics should be held to a higher moral standard or whether pragmatic considerations should prevail. The two poles are represented most conspicuously by Aristotle and Machiavelli. The fourteen contributors to this volume are predominantly arrayed on the Aristotelian end of the continuum. I will be arguing against a school of thought and an epistemology.