The Moral Foundations of Politics (The Institution for Social and Policy St)

I have to say in all honesty that of the hundreds of political science books I've read in my life, this little number is one of the best. Shapiro is so fair, so sharp, so insightful, so spot on with his evaluations, and amazingly, so concise and thorough at the same time, that I think it is a shame this book hasn't made a bigger splash. It manages at the same time to be a great introduction to the great political philosophies AND a profound meditation and evaluation of, and critique on, each. I know I sound like a sap raving over this thing, but let me just include one more comment. This will sound a bit weird, but here goes. I found Shapiro's last chapter on democracy really, really moving. I've never really felt that way before reading a book about politics, and I can't really do his discussion justice here. I should just mention that among other things, he raises the question of how solid the traditional rationale for democracy really is, resting as it does on the absolute knowledge claims of early enlightenment thinkers. He points to Popperian epistemology, or fallibilism, as a surer basis for it, and then from there goes on to flesh out a series of arguments vindicating democracy's current status as, really, the sole legitimate political arrangement. These include explanations of how democracy institutionalizes truth detection mechanisms, how those mechanisms operate and why they are so important to human welfare, and ventures to suggest a few improvements to our current set-up for consideration. I'm going to order his book on democratic theory next. Really a brilliant little book. T. When Do Governments Merit Our Allegiance, And When Should They Be Denied It? Ian Shapiro Explores This Most Enduring Of Political Dilemmas In This Innovative And Engaging Book. Building On His Highly Popular Yale Courses, Professor Shapiro Evaluates The Main Contending Accounts Of The Sources Of Political Legitimacy. Starting With Theorists Of The Enlightenment, He Examines The Arguments Put Forward By Utilitarians, Marxists, And Theorists Of The Social Contract. Next He Turns To The Anti-enlightenment Tradition That Stretches From Edmund Burke To Contemporary Post-modernists. In The Last Part Of The Book Shapiro Examines Partisans And Critics Of Democracy From Plato{u2019}s Time Until Our Own. He Concludes With An Assessment Of Democracy{u2019}s Strengths And Limitations As The Font Of Political Legitimacy. The Book Offers A Lucid And Accessible Introduction To Urgent Ongoing Conversations About The Sources Of Political Allegiance. -- Publisher's Description. Enlightenment Politics -- Classical Utilitarianism -- Synthesizing Rights And Utility -- Marxism -- The Social Contract -- Anti-enlightenment Politics -- Democracy -- Democracy In The Mature Enlightenment. Ian Shapiro. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 231-265) And Index. When Do Governments Merit Our Allegiance, And When Should They Be Denied It? Ian Shapiro Investigates This Most Enduring Of Political Dilemmas In This Innovative And Engaging Book. Shapiro Discusses The Different Answers That Have Been Proposed By The Major Political Theorists In The Utilitarian, Marxist, And Social Contract Traditions Over The Past Four Centuries. Showing How These Political Philosophies Have All Been Decisively Shaped By The Core Values Of The Enlightenment, He Demonstrates That Each One Contains Useful Insights That Survive Their Failures As Comprehensive Doctrines And That Should Inform Our Thinking About Political Legitimacy. Shapiro Then Turns To The Democratic Tradition. Exploring The Main Arguments For And Against Democracy From Plato’s Time Until Our Own, He Argues That Democracy Offers The Best Resources For Realizing The Enlightenment’s Promise And Managing Its Internal Tensions. As Such, Democracy Supplies The Most Attractive Available Basis For Political Legitimacy. When do governments merit our allegiance, and when should they be denied it? In this investigation of this most enduring of political dilemmas, Ian Shapiro discusses the different answers that have been proposed by the major political theorists in the utilitarian, Marxist, and social contract traditions over the past four centuries. Showing how these political philosophies have all been decisively shaped by the core values of the Enlightenment, he demonstrates that each one contains useful insights that survive their failures as comprehensive doctrines and that should inform our thinking about political legitimacy. Shapiro then turns to the democratic tradition. Exploring the main arguments for and against democracy from Plato's time until our own, he argues that democracy offers the best resources for realizing the Enlightenment's promise and managing its internal tensions. As such, democracy supplies the most attractive available basis for political legitimacy