The Crisis of Democratic Pluralism : The Loss of Confidence in Reason and the Clash of Worldviews

This book argues that contemporary liberal democracy is reaching a crisis. Brendan Sweetman contends that this crisis arises from a contentious pluralism involving the rise of incommensurable worldviews that emerge out of the absolutizing of freedom over time in a democratic setting. This clash of worldviews is further complicated by a loss of confidence in reason and by the practical failure of public discourse. A contributory factor is the growing worldview of secularism which needs to be distinguished from both the process of secularization and the concept of the secular state. After describing the crisis, and exploring these themes, and also rejecting proposed solutions from recent liberal political theory, Sweetman develops an approach to pluralist disagreement which requires a re-envisioning of the relationship between religion, secularism and politics, and which allows a limited place for all worldviews in the state, including religious worldviews. Engaging with the work of Philip Kitcher, Robert Audi, John Rawls, A.C. Grayling, Martin Luther King, Cécile Laborde, John Stuart Mill, John Locke, and Plato, Sweetman's approach is a formidable innovation in the quest to maintain a free and fair society. Preface Contents About the Author Part I: Democracy and Freedom: Pluralism, Reason, and Relativism Chapter 1: Introduction: Democracy in Crisis? What the Crisis Is Not The Democratic System and Democratic Values Familiar Practical Problems Facing the Democratic System Overview of the Crisis: Themes of This Book Chapter 2: Freedom and Disagreement in a Democracy Locke and Mill on Freedom Mill’s Arguments for Freedom of Thought and Expression Does Freedom of Expression Lead to Relativism? The Temptation to Suppress “Objectionable” Views Chapter 3: Worldviews, Pluralism, and Loss of Confidence in Reason Worldviews and Pluralism The Problem of Worldview Pluralism and its Origin: A Tentative Causal Argument Loss of Confidence in Reason: Anti-Realist Views of Knowledge Pluralism as a Cultural Phenomenon Chapter 4: Democracy and Relativism Relativism as a Cultural Phenomenon A Postmodern World Relativism as Rhetorical Strategy Relativism in Ordinary Moral Debate Problems for Relativism Disagreement, Incommensurability, and Relativism Part II: Secularization and Political Liberalism: The Exclusion of Religion Chapter 5: Religion, and the Rise of Secularism The Worldviews of Religion and Secularism Areas of Disagreement and Some Qualifications Secularism and Western Societies Case Study: Philosophical Secularism in the Work of Philip Kitcher Chapter 6: Secularizing Society Secularism and Secularization The Secularization Thesis Reflections on the Concept of “The Secular” Passive and Active Secularism Case Study: Republic of Ireland Immature and Mature Secularism Chapter 7: Secular Liberalism and the Exclusion of Religious Worldviews Assumptions of Modern Secular Liberalism Reasonable Pluralism in John Rawls Rawls and Habermas on Public Reason Audi on Excluding Religious Views from Democratic Politics Part III: Reasonable Worldviews and Public Deliberation: The Way Ahead Chapter 8: Public Reason Reasonable Pluralism and Interpretations of Public Reason How Would Public Reasoning Work? Rejecting Public Reason? Case Study: Arguing About Abortion in the Public Square The Reasoning Process Versus the Conclusions of Reason Chapter 9: Worldviews in Politics, and the Failure of Liberalism Religion in Politics Case Study: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights Assessment of Rawls and Political Liberalism Secularism, Religion, and Politics Chapter 10: Re-envisioning Church and State Re-envisioning the “Separation” of Church and State Democracy and Populism A Worry About the Tyranny of the Majority Guidelines for Public Discourse: Ten Suggestions Bibliography Index