Politics and Morality (Themes for the 21st Century)

Public disenchantment with politics has become a key feature of the world in which we live. In this book, Susan Mendus asks if politicians can be morally good or whether politics is destined to involve dirty hands or the loss of integrity, as many modern philosophers claim.

Public disenchantment with politics has become a key feature of the world in which we live. Politicians are increasingly viewed with suspicion and distrust, and electoral turnout in many modern democracies continues to fall. But are we right to display such contempt towards our elected representatives? Can politicialns be morally good, or is politics destined to involve' dirty hands' or the loss of integrity, as many modern phisopners claim? in this book, susan Medus seeks to address these important questions to assess whether this apprent tension between morelity and politics is real, and if so, why.

Beginning with an account of integrity as involving a willingness to stand by one's most fundamental moralo commitments, the author discussess three reasons for thinking that politics undermines integrity and is incompatible with morality. These are: the relationship between politics and utlitarian calculation; the possibility that the realm of politics is a separate realm of value and the difficulty of reconciling the demands of different social roles. She concludes that, in the modern world, we all risk losing our integrity. To that extent, we are all 'politicians.' Moreover, we have reason to be glad that politicians are not always mlorally good.

Written with verve and clarity, this book provides students and general readers with an accessible guide to the philosophical debates about the complex relationship between politics and morality in the contemporary world.

Public disenchantment with politics has become a key feature of the world in which we live. Politicians are increasingly viewed with suspicion and distrust, and electoral turnout in many modern democracies continues to fall. But are we right to display such contempt towards our elected representatives? Can politicians be morally good or is politics destined to involve dirty hands or the loss of integrity, as many modern philosophers claim? In this book, Susan Mendus seeks to address these important questions to assess whether this apparent tension between morality and politics is real and, if so, why. Beginning with an account of integrity as involving a willingness to stand by ones most fundamental moral commitments, the author discusses three reasons for thinking that politics undermines integrity and is incompatible with morality. These are: the relationship between politics and utilitarian calculation; the possibility that the realm of politics is a separate realm of value; and the difficulty of reconciling the demands of different social roles. She concludes that, in the modern world, we all risk losing our integrity. To that extent, we are all politicians. Moreover, we have reason to be glad that politicians are not always morally good. Written with verve and clarity, this book provides students and general readers an accessible guide to the philosophical debates about the complex relationship between politics and morality in the contemporary world. Can politicians be morally good or is politics destined to involve 'dirty hands' or the loss of integrity, as many modern philosophers claim? In this title, Susan Mendus seeks to address these important questions to assess whether this apparent tension between morality and politics is real and, if so, why COVER 1 Contents 7 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 11 1: Integrity 24 2: Political Integrity 47 3: Integrity and Utilitarianism 67 4: Integrity and Pluralism 88 5: Integrity and Social Roles 106 Notes 133 References 135 Index 138