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Bunge Mario Augu to.
Politi a] philo. ophy : fact, fiction and i ion / Mario Bunge.
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ISB 978- 1-4 128-0828-6 alk. paper
1. Political science. 2. Politi al ience--Philo ophy. I. Title.
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2008025320
Contents
p
Acknow ledgmenl .
Inlo
Philoso
p
hical Back
g
round: Univcrsal1dcas
2 Citizen and Polity: Diversity and Unity
'
Vu a Mo' Iaa Sa
4
5 Contention and Ne
g
otiation
6
p
i Goe
7 Scientific In
p
ut to Politic
8 Technolo
g
ical In
p
ut to Politic
9 Vision: Inte
g
ral Democrac
y
REREE
IND O NME
ID O SUB JES
yi
IX
5
49
8
139
183
23
279
313
351
4
4
43
Preface
Thi book i ab ut politi s p liti al theory and p litical philo ophy.
Alth ugh thc e two discipline' arc often nfated b au e they inter
a t they actually arc distinct. In fa t politi aJ theory i ' part of political
sciencc whereas politi al philosophy i a hybrid f p litical the ry and
philo ophy. Th ' former dis ipline is d criptiv and explanat ry wherea
th latt r is pr . criptive-to the point that it i. often called 'nonnati
th ory.' Simmon. 200 : 1 defnes it correctly a. '"the e aluati e study
of political .oci tie .. In other words wh reas politologi. t d . cribe and
xplain politics. political philosophers examin it critically and v ntur
to . ugge. t impro em nts and, on occasion, radically different . ocial
futures. Political philo. ophers propo.e scenarios and dr am. wh r
political cienti 'ts offer nap 'hot of exi ting politie.
For example at this time, the right to gainful and ecure employment
is moral, not yet legal' hene it belong' in political philo 'ophy and social
technology rath r than in political 'ci nee ('ee ILO 2004 . By contra t,
the hypothe 'is that ' Great Powers in relativ decline in tinetively respond
by 'pending more on security and thereby divert potential resources
from inve tment and compound their long-term dilemma (K nnedy
L 988: xxvi belong' in political cience and hi toriography.
Becau e of it normati e natur . political philo ophy ha. a moral ting
that political cience lacks. When the political . i nti t oberly report .
on low voter turout th political philo opher deplore' that thi i an
indicator of the decline of ci ic-mindedne" or e en d mocracy' politi
cal cienti t call' ettlement ' and " trong leadership what political
philo opher condemn a colony and tyranny respecti ely-and 0 on.
However, political philo ophy i not yet a well-defined feld: it hov
er between political theory and utopian fanta jzing. It devote too much
time reanalyzing the work of Plato, Ari totle, Thomas Aquina , Hobbe
Spinoza, Loke. Monte quieu, Kant, Rou eau. or Bentham. But none of
the thinker c uid have anticipated any of the mo t pre . . ing p litical
is. ue of our time. Ther i the need to . t P global warming, di mantle
\Iii
viii Political Philosophy
nuclear armament prevent further resource war . top the ri c of in
equality between individuaL and nation" and fight authoritarianism,
particularly when it come. di. QuL ed as democracy or as sociali. m.
Not even more recent , 0 ial thinker , . uch a. John Stuart Mill Karl
Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber Vilt'redo Pareto John Dewey Joeph
Schumpeter, Harold La, ki, Karl Popper, Hannah Arendt, or John RawI. ,
had much to . ay about uch topical i. sue, as en ironmental degradation,
gend r and race di riminations participative democracy nationali m,
imp rialism, the North-South (or dev lopcd-underde eloped divide re-
our war the indu trial-military omplex, r the nnection between
po erty and nvironmental degradation and b tween inequality and
bad health. S e Le noff 1999 for a fair di cll'sion f twentieth-century
politi al philo 'opher .
Wor ,abo e their ideological div rg 'n e , mo t political phil pher'
ha e been nearly unanimou. in their indiff rence to the plight of the Third
World. Con. equ ntly the bulk of political philo. ophy i. irrel vant to f e
sixth. of humankind. The pr s nt author. a native of thi. world doe. not
share that indifference. rn general 1 agree with Dworkin 2000: 4 that
"it ri. l e . . ential that political philosophy re. pond to politic. " in. tead of
d aling with fctions .uch a. those of the state of nature, social contract,
liberty without equality, and social ju tice di pensed [rom above. The
very notion of an apolitical political philosophy i an oxymoron.
We are given a 'ingle world not a free choice of world '. ole that I
ju ,t wrote l rId not USA. Thi ' choice of words i deliberate for I be
lieve that contemporary political philosophy i' till far too USAcentric
and Eurocentric, while politics i ' being played in the world 'tage rather
than only in th U. S. government. I al 0 happen to think that political
philo. opher hould pay more attention to number'. uch a ' the tandard
index of in om inequality and the mor cornprehen ive U human
dev lopment index for the variou . nation'. It i pointle to write about
redi tributi e policie unl we ha e 'orne of id a of the urrent wealth
di tribution.
Howe er, the irrelevance or ob ole cence of many political idea
matter litt1e to our concer, becau e we hall di cu topical political
i ue and ocial policie rather than author or fanciful world . In fact,
we shall focu on some current problem and hall eek promi iug lead
to the future.
Acknowledgments
A' usual lowe much to a numb r of cholars and tudents who asked
stimulating que tion ,formulated critici 'm' offered advice (not alway
foIl wed , gave p rtinent informati n or encouragement, or helped to
cope with alamities. Thi tim' I ingle out Da id Blitz Ricard Bloch,
Micha '1 Breher, Moi h Bronet Antonio Colomer Viadel, Rafa '1 Gonzalez
del Solar. Peter C. Hoffmann th late Gino Germani Irving Louis Horow
itz, Michael Kary Jonathan Loeh Martin Mahner. Luis Maron ,Antonio
Martino the late Robert K. M rton Ignacio Morgado- B rnal, Da id
Oswald Andreas Pick 1, the late Anatol Rapoport. ichola. Re.cher.
Marc Silber.t in Charle. Tilly. the lat Bruc G. Trigg r Robrto Tuda.
and Per-Olov Wik. tram. And as ver r thank Marta, my wife of half a
century, and my childr n: Carlos, Mario, Eric, and Silvia.
I dedicate this book to the memory of my father,
Augusto Bunge 1877- 194
ph sician, the first Latin Areri an redi -al so -;ologi5t,
parliamentarian, and hampion of so ial ju rice
and Lilzi\ er al health are.
My father wa ' active in politic' frorn hi. . tudent day till hi. la t day
when hara ed by the polic for hi anti-fa. ci ,t militan y. He tran mit
ted to me hi pa' 'ion for politic iew d a the civic arm of morality
a well a hi conviction that ocial policie hould be ba 'ed on 'ocial
cience rather than improvi ed in the hunt for ote . I can still picture
him speaking in the Argentine Congre , tanding beside hi armchair
fanked by two tall pile of learned books andjoumal in four languages
which he u ed to ju tify or criticize a new bill, while most of hi col
leagues, attuned to fery rhetoric rather than olid evidence, Ii tened
re p ctfully or dozed.
1 have worked f r most f my long aead mic life in politically neutral
feld : the reti a1 physi and the r ti a1 philosophy. Howe er in a way
ix
x Political Philosophy
1 have been writing thL book all my life for 1 started reading political
new, and Ii. tening to political di cu . . ions at age . e en. I have been a
political-new. addict ever since, and have participated in some politi al
campaigns. Sti11, I ne er contemplated embarking on a poJitical career,
particularly not in univer, ity politic, . T have alway. been intere. ted in
doing more con, tru ti e work: organizing and running a worker, school,
a on, tru tion fml a philo, ophy journal, and , everal leared ocietie,.
The a tivitie hav ' giv n me 'ome experi 'nee in both cont 'nti n and
go ernance.
Howev r possessing a politi al ar th ugh no p liti a tongue, and
having Ii ed half of my liD ' in a p liticaUy re tive nation I ould not
a oid being affected by nati nal politi s in b th my native Argentina and
my adopti Canada. In fa t I hav ' I i ed through half a dozen military
coup and on revoluti w igned or refused to ign numerous petition'
and manife, toe.' tak n part in many boring meeting. and assemhlies;
marched in . tre t d mon, tration. for or against a ariety of cause. ; and
writt n for an und rground paper. Like my father. r wa. jailed twice
(my mother once and both tim s my hom wa, raided; r wa. dismiss d
from my univ r, ity job, and deni d proper id ntity documents for more
than a decade.
Finally in 1963 I reluctantly left my country [or god, afer a bloody
confrontation between two army faction' and fearing that the n xt mili
tary coup would truncate my research projects if not wor 'e. Three year
later the coup actually happened, and about I 000 academic' re 'igned
or wer being dismi . ed. Canada has been my home since 1966. I am
grateful to the politician' and civil ervants who built the 'ervic 'tate
that ha kept Canada at p ac and placed it on the 'ixth rung in human
dev lopment U DP 2006).
In hort I learned omething about politic' not from book but from
life if unwillingly in mo t ca' .. In particular, I learned 'omething that
pin-doctor', pundit and di enchanted citizen. do not know: that cI an
con tructiv politic i' po 'ibl . I tru t that tho 'e exp rience ha e helped
me ketch a political philo ophy that i neither armchair-i h, nor cynical,
nor utopian.
Finally, given the current tate of the study of politics I prefer "poLi
tology' to' political science even though I hare Condorcet 1782)
optimi m concerning it bright future. And, unle otherwise indicated,
all the foreign language tran lations included in thi book are my own.
Introduction
The a t majority of books and cour e on politi -al theory and politi
cal philo. ophy examine their pa ts. Thi i certainly a legitimate and
intere ting concern ee e.g., Ball and Bellamy ed . 2003 . But it is
no cub titut for either "Ii ing political theory or r levant political
philosophy just as the hi tory of mathematic i no ubstitute for prov
ing theorem, .
Tn my view political philo. ophy exceL when combined with , 0 ial,
political, economic or legal data and theory, a. in the works of Gunnar
Myrdal, RobertA. Dahl Amartya Sen, Ronald Dworkin, El1nor 0, trom,
and David Mi11er. Otherwise it ri, k, 10, ing conta t with reality, a. in the
ca, e of Leo Strau .. (1959). trau ,the influential political philo. opher
who r mmended going back t the an ients, i an e treme xample
of the profe r out of touch with current p liti to the point of seek
ing political wisd m in writers from Plat and Ari totI onward who
opposed democracy and took lavery and war for granted. Thi i why
h ' erlookcd the p liti al issues of hi day.
Art must pass the te t f time: ci n mu t fail it for the world it trie
to under. tand keeps changing. Reading old books i. a pleasant pastim
but no . ub. tiulte for the in ,tigation of burning political i .. ue, and th
philosophical prohl m. th y raLe. Plato', elitism wa, dismantled together
with th Ba, tiJl
.
Augu, tin . just war was blast d atHiroshima; Hobb s'
war of all against war was .tillhorn for in the end coop ration always
trumps competition' and Marx . dictator. hip of th proletariat crumbled
along ,ide th oviet empire.
On 'econd reading the 'aid Leo Strauss wa far [rom having stayed
abov the fry. In fact, taking lead' fTom Plato " noble lie," ietz ch "
elitism and Heidegger' ' esoterici 'm, anti-moderism and anti-humanism,
Strau' . taught in person or in pired some of the neocon ervative who in
1997 drafed th "Project [or the ew American Century,' which 'ketched
the imp rial goal pur u d by the government of George W. Bu h Ryn
2003; Dmry 2005 . Plato failed in Syracu' where Strau ucc ed d in
1
2 Political Philosophy
Wa hington D.C. a Nietz che and Carl Schmitt had previously. uc
ceeded in Ber1in-merciful1y only for a dozen years.
It is hard for a political philo. opher to be a pa" ive bystander the way
some conservati e po1itical theorist ha e urged when attacking scholar.
who, like the great John Maynard Keyne. and his disciple , riticized
unfettered capitali. m for being self-de, tru tive and proposed economic
regulations and social programs to im pro e the lot of the common people.
Unlike the hi 'torian of p liti al thought, wh should be impartial a well
a bjectiv ' political ienti t, and p litical philosoph rs arc exp cted to
analyz ' and inspir ' social poli ies, which arc guide to political action or
inaction. If th ir phil phie arc wrong, 0 will b ' the poli i 'S they pr -
po e. In any event the philo opher pr p c' and the 0 ereign-whether
prince or people-di p
Politics, the highe t and the lowe t form of '0 ial a tion, om ,tim' ,
the mo. t . elfi. h and at oth r times th most , lfie .. of activities is the
art of facing or e ading . ocial issues that i. ,problem. other than purely
p r. onal predicaments. Social i.. ue. arise in all social .y. tem. from
the childless couple to the world . ystem. This i. why politics p rmeate.
all social lif : There ar family politic. and gang politics office politic.
and club politic. , school politic. and church politic., municipal politic.
and interational politic " and so on.
Politic' can be con tructive, de tructive or barren and it can be grand,
mean or mediocre. And politics has both a contentious and an adnlinis
trative 'ide. Politic' i ' the ,truggle for power as well as the exerci e of
power in ocial yst O of all kinds and 'izes. It i ' al '0 the art of confict
re 'olution in both contention and admini 'tration.
It behoove plitical cienti t. and technologi t to d tect po ibl
ource' of confict and d vi' rnean to r olv them, but it i up to politi
cal philo opher to offer ethi al argument, for or again t any propo a1.
to r .01 e politi al confict '. An intere ting if eldom notic d political
no elty that emerged in the cour e of the la t c ntury i that functionarie.
of the UN and ivil 'ociety organization ha e b en far mor activ than
academic in tackling international confict , becau e the UN Charter i
basically an ethical document, the only one agreed upon univer ally, if
not always respected in practice.
The exercise of power of any kind i not neutral: it b nefit or har1
some or all, in particular by either buttre ing or undenining pri ilege.
Con equentJy political philo opher and policy anaJy t are called upon
t either improv or wren the I t of ordinary folks for in. tance by
supporting or opp . ing programs intended to either fa ilitate or hinder
Introduction 3
popular access to gainful job public health 'arc culture or public
go ernance. on, equently political philo, opher, should be able to dete t
the promi, e, and threat lurking behind the seemingly neutral , cholarly
literature.
Take. for example the famou. Pareto optimality principle, ac
cording to which the state of an economy (or of an entire , ociety) i,
efficient ju, t in ca e no one can be made better off without . omeone
else being made wor e ff. In other word ci ,ty would b ' like a ee
saw. In parti ular all the oeial program aiming at impr ving oeial
ju ti and enf reing int 'rnational law hould be j ,ttisoned a b 'ing
Pareto in 'ffici nt and any hop ' f impr ving the lot of humankind a
a whole hould be abandoned f r the ize of the eak , t be di tributed
i constant and ta i ' i alway preferable to hange. In short, whoever
a eept Par 'to 4 ptimality' mu ,t, if con i tent rej et the very idea of
, ocial progress.
And yet even John Rawls 1971: 66-67) who thought of himself a,
progre .. iv , mbrac d Par to 'optimality' becau, e h failed to realiz
that it i. just an application of the con, ervativ political philo, ophy that
njoin. u. not to rock the boat, or ven row it. A moral of thi. story i,
that the political philo. opher should be , keptical of main.tream conomic
theory, if only because a Milton Friedman (1991 boa 'ted, [or aU its
apparent mathematical 'ophi ,tication, that theory i 'old wine in new
bottles' -hardly the liquid the thirsty need.
What might draw a philo 'opher to the study of politic' i . that politi
cal action is never done in a conceptual and moral vacuum. Indeed, all
politician' invoke certain alue' and ideals, claim to act on expert advice,
and d vi. e policie. and plan'. It i up to the politi al philo opher to
judge whether the value , exp rti' ,and poIicj in que. tion are authen
tic rather than rhetorical, and well grounded rather than jmprovi' d. In
turn our judgment wjll be right or wrong d p nding on it. input uch
a knowledge about 0 jal matter', a crjtical or gullible attitude and a
moral pro ocial or jmmoral (anti. ocial) tand.
Since politic i bound to change people lives it ha a moral compo
nent, albeit ordinarily a tacit or even carefully concealed one. Bernard
Crick [1992: 141] went a far a to claim that "Po]itical activity is a type
of moral activity." Moreo er, I ubmit that the moral compnent of politi
cal action i the mo t important if the lea t isible one, imply because it
invo] e benefit and harm . I also ugge t that it i a ta k of the political
philosoph r to unveil and evaluate uch component, aU th more so in e
it i often fogged by a narrow ideology or even by a crude philosophy
4 Political Philosophy
such a contrac tari ani m utilitariani m pragmati m legal positi i Tl,
dialectical materialism critical theory, or hemleneutic . .
Undoubtedly, political cience has advanced appre iably since the
la. t world war. However. in my view it , till . uffer. from the , ame moral
defcit a. tandard economic theory. Indeed in both field the mainstream
i. utilitarian and therefore indifferent to mora] sentiment and to the lot
of the 10 er. in the race. to power and wealth. Tn fact few contemporary
profe ors of political ' i 'n ' ha e ever condemned military aggres i n,
tat terrorism unprov ked ' preemptive' military aggr 'ssi n torturing
political pri on r ,cen oring the n 'W ,or re tri ting ivil liberti 'S during
emergen i 'S (ev n when engine red by their government .
On the i'w oc a ion wh 'n acad mics ha e condemn d 'u h pra tice ,
ordinarily they indict d th m as ineffectual rather than immoral. Wor '
yet, in re ent time me famou pr fe r of political ien e hav ' of
fered or . old . tarkly immoral advice to their go emment.: Susp nd thi.
ci il right. ignore that int rnational tr aty bomb or in ad that country,
keep fighting thi. ill gal war d stabilize that unfriendly go ernment,
support this friendly dictator, rip off th .ocial fabric of thos rural il
lage. adopt this carpet-bombing .chedule, try out that toxic . pray t 11
the p opl that th y ar und r attack ven if they are not, d moniz your
adversaries, and '0 on. The e betrayal' have made political philosophy
timely once again for the nucleus of thi ' di 'cipline i " or ought to be,
moral ,-the art of helping other enjoy life.
The central the 'i ' of thi ' book i that re 'ponsibl politic' i ' based not
only on ideology but al '0 on philosophy, in particular ethic' a' well a
on 'ocial technology, which in tum is effective only when ba 'ed on 'olmd
ocial 'cience. The following diagram ummariz the whole book.
SOCIOTECHNOLOGY
i
SOCIAL SCrE CE
i
POLITICAL ISSUES
i
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
POLITICS
IDEOLOGY
i J
PHILOSOPHY
1
Philosophical Background: Universal Ideas
Philo ophy ha a bad reputation among cienti t. who regard jt a '
b ing either irrelevant to . jenc or oppo ed to it. in particular political
philo ophy ha been accu. d of being opportuni tic rather than principl d
a well a' jmpreci' and only 100 'ely related to the bulk of philo ophy.
Pet r La lett 1967: 370 noted that the aid opportuni m 'ha. led to
a raggedn . '. ev n an incoherence. in works d voted to it and to an
empha i on intuiti e arguments which compare unfavorably with the
content of other philo ophical Hterature.' Many year later the are
cholar added a complaint: Political philosopher 0 eremphasize the
hi tory of politkal thought at the expen e of contemporary chaUenge
(La lett in Skinner 2002: 2 .
However nobody can avoid philo ophy when di cus ing anything
other than everyday events. if jn doubt, try do p litology without u ing the
notion of thing and pro . . reality and appearan e au and chanc
person and society bhavjor and norm a. umption and dedu ti n datum
and theory indicator and test, cience and ideology-and then som .
One an. and usually doe. use them without pausjng t examine th m.
H wever ta it philo phy is loppy and uncritical. To avoid th . e two
faw we mu t analyze and y tematize univer al concep . We mu t build
pred e theorie around thern. Thi j a ta k for good philo ophy.
The pre ent chapter ketche what I hope to be a coherent philo-
ophi al y ter, and it offer ugge tion on how to harpen ore key
philo ophical concept rele ant to the tudy of politic . Some of the e
concept occur, albeit impLi itly for the rno t part in the work of the
much-maligned Niccolo Ma 'hia cIli 1940. Machiavelli founded not
only modem political t 'hnology or the art of ra per uac ion, but aL 0
modern political theory. Thus, he inspired not only Hitler, Stalin and
terror peddler but al 0 all the eriou politi 'al theori of the modem
era f0l11 Hobbes and Lo 'ke to our day.
5
6 Political Philosophy
1 ubmi t that Machi avel l i ' s c ci enti fc ucce was l argel y du to hi
moder phi l o ophi cal outl ook taci t and , ketchy a. i t was. Tn fact, hi .
ontology wac both secul ar unl i ke that of hi . Chri sti an predece . . or. ) and
dynami ci st un1 i ke Pl at o' and Hu" erl , . Ma hi avel l i vi ewed the pol i ty
as a concrete whol e i n perptual fux whose i ndi i dual component were
moved pri mari l y by worl dl y i ntere. ts. He wa. confdent that, by studyi ng
t he me hani m. of pol i t i cal change, he woul d be abl e to understand and
control t hem for the beneft of t he overei gn.
ontrary to Pl ato and Ari t ot l , but D re hadowi ng Gal i leo, Machi a
el l i r gard 'd change a a mark of p rfect i on, not i mp rc ti on. H ' wa '
al t he fr t to tate that pol iti cs i s not j u ,t a game pl ayed by pri n e '
rul er , but al 0 a pro e i n 01 vi ng ma e f i ndi vi dual who attempt
to forese ' the conscqllen e f thei r a t i on . Machi a I l i wa al so an
epi temol ogi cal real i `\. He bel i ' d i n t he i ndependent exi tence of th '
external worl d, a. wel l a. in the po . . i bi l i ty of gett i ng to know i t . Tn short ,
by and l arge Machi avel l i may b regarded as a mat ri al i st of sort. a.
wel l a. a real i . t a rati onal i . t . and an ut i l i tari an. Tru , h al so hel i d
in magi c but thi . pl ayed no rol e i n hi . t heory j u.t as wton' s God di d
not occur i n hi . equati on. of mot i on.
On may t ackl e a ci rcum. cri bed pol i ti cal probl em . uch a. whether
proporti onal representati on i ' fai r and workabl e, wi thi n a ' i ngl e branch
of a di ci pl i ne. But the bi g i ssues of any ki nd, such as poverty can onl y
be tackled wi t h the hel p of several di ' ci pl i nes and wi thi n a broad phi lo
sophi caJ fTamework. Tbi i ' so because pol i ti cal action occurs i n the real
worl d i s pl anned in the l ight of some body of knowledge and ' ore moral
code, and is l ikel y to benefit ' ome peopl e whi le harmi ng other ' .
For exampl e, t he d i gn and i mpl mentati on of any promi i ng or
threateni ng) publ i c work . healt h, or edu ati on program pr ' uppo e a
ecul ar worl d i ew a real i t i c epi ' temol ogy. an acti on theory mi ndful of
i nter t" and a con. equenti al i t though not nec ari l y ut i l i tari an moral
phi l o. ophy. in hort I ' ubmi t that phi l o ophy contri but to fa hioni ng
the pol i t y vi a pol i t ical theory and pol i t i cal acti on a llgg ted by th
fol lowi ng fow di agram:
Philosoph Politi al tlleor Poli Politi al debate
Politi al de isiol1 Planning Exe ution Evaluation
Et enfual poli' or plan r design
The na' ,ve materi al i t mi ght object that thi . i ew i . ideal L t i c. becau. e
it presents certai n fact. a. con, equence of i deas. But as it so happen.
Philosophical Background 7
that del i berate acti on, by contnL t to kn e-jerk r acti on, i. carried out i n
the l i ght of i dea i ntert wi ned wi th moral , enti ment . (Any deci si on to
take acti on i s preceded by del i berat i on, gui ded or dL torted by de. i re,
rooted i n i ntere. t s. as wel l as constrai ned or fuel led by moral . . ) Admi t
ti ng t hi , i no conce. si on to phi l osophi cal i deal i sm, provi ded i deas
are regarded as brai n proce es, not a. exi , t i ng by them el ves. So, the
enti re proce" we ha e j u. t , ketched occur. i n the real world i nhabi ted
by pol i t i al agent .
The r ' le an e of phi l o ' ophy to pol i ti cal ' i 'n ' resear h i s ob i ou
from the approach to th ' di ci pl i ne ho en by the author i n the four
more i nfu ' nti al Ameri can and B ri t i h joural i n th ' f l d duri ng the
1 997-2002 peri od ( Mar h and Sa i gny 2004 . F r ampl , 56 of
the contri butors to the Ameri 'an Journal of Politi al Science opted for
"behavi oural i m,' r respect for 'mpi ri cal data wh ' rea rati onal -choi ce
th ory-characteri zed by i t. apri ori sm-was t he choi c of onl y 1 59 of
th author, . Th corre. pondi ng data for t h British JournaL 0/ Politi 'aL
S 'ienc( were 63< and 9 r . p ct i vel y.
r n thi s chapter I wi l l , ketch t h phi l osophi cal di . ci pl i n s i n ol ved i n
pol i ti cal phi l o. ophy. In my v iew authent i c phi l osophy con. i st s of t h
fol l owi ng branch s:
THEORETICAL
PRACTICAL
Logic: preci si on and deduci bi l i ty
Semallri s: meani ng and t ruth
Ontolog .: bei ng and becomi ng
Epi remolog : cogni ti on and knowledge
PhiLo oph of Scien e and Techllolog
MethodoLog): evi dence
Axiolo ' : al ue.
Ethi 'S` ri ght and dut i e.
Praxiolo : action
Politi ' aL philosoph . pol i t i c.
Al l of t h ' k 'y i dea ' i n t he phi losophi cal di ' cipl i ne wi l l pl ay a rol e
i n each hapter f thi book. However, t he reader ' houl d remember t hat,
unl i ke mathematics or chenli try phi l sophy i ' pl ural in the ' n e that
eve!' phi lo ophi cal view b 'l ong t some chool or other-rati onal i st or
inat i onal i t ideal i t or materi al i , t i ndi v idual i t r y t ' mht, and so n.
1 ha e ch en my own phi lo ' ophy whi ch I ha e di scu cd i n detai l
i n previ ou, works, part i cul arl y i n t h ei ght ol um . of my Treati"e on
Political Philosophy
Bo i Philosoph 1 974-89) as wel l as i n t hree boo on the phi lo ophy
of soci al ci ence Bunge 1 996a 1 998a. 1 999a , i n my late. t books on
ontology and epi. temol ogy ( Bunge 2003a, 2006a , and i n an anthol ogy
on my ci enti fi c real L m (Mahner 2001 . But I cl ai m that though bi a. ed a.
al 1 phi l o ophi e, , mi ne i s both preci se and evi dence-ba, ed. The e i dence
I offer for or agai n, t phi l o, ophi cal hypotheses come, from science and
technol ogy. For i nstance, if I regard e ery thi ng as changeabl e and a.
ei ther a y tem r a mpon nt of ne i t i s becau e d e ev ' ry c i
ence proper. I n other words my phi losophy i s unaba hedly sci enti ti ,
that i s, sci ence-center d.
Thi phi l o phy may be ummarizcd a ' a h agon centered i n s i enc ,
and the id of whi h are my own vcr i on ' f emergentist materiali 'm
a opp cd to both ideal i sm and radi cal reduct i oni 01)' sterni rn a '
the al t rnat i v to both i ndi vi dual i sm or atomi sm, and hol i sm or struc
tural i sm) ' d 'nomi 'ism or th the. i s that ev rythi ng i n t h r al worl d i .
changeabl ; s 'iel1ldic realism a, opposed to na'i e real i sm, suhject i i . m
and rel ati vi sm) ; humanism ( as oppo. ed to sup rnatural i sm and goi . m) ;
and ?xa '111 'SS. a. oppo. ed to i mpreci si on and oh, curi ty. I wi l l att mpt to
show the r I e ance of ach of the. e phi l osophi cal vi ews to both pol i t ical
sci ence and pol i t i cal phi l osophy. I wi l l a1 O argue that a phi l o ' ophy wi t h
out l ogi c and ' emanti cs i ' mu hy' wi t hout ontol ogy, spi nel es ' ; wi thout
epi stemol ogy headl ess; and wi thout thi es, cl awle ' ' .
1XLP1 S
H MANl M
LP
YNAMI ISM
REALISM SYSTEMISM
l IATERJALJSM
g. 1.1. Sketch of the phiiosophicaJ system used in this work.
1. Logic: Conceptual Rationalit)'
Let u, gl i mpse at pol i ti cal reasoni ng. What thi nks and feel s about po
l i ti cal i s, ue, and what to do about them i a brai n. And brai n can work
ei ther rat i onal l y and real i st i cal 1 y or not. The, e two condi ti on , rati onal i ty
Philosophical Background 9
and real i m C qui te dist i n .t . On may argu rati onal l y about ghost
the way rati onal -choi ce theori st do when usi ng undefi ned uti l i ti e, and
probabi l i ti e, . Or one may sti ck to real i ty yet t hi nk i rrat i onal 1 y about i t ,
t he way postmodems have been doi ng-as when Derri da tated that
"[ w] hat i , proper to a cul t ure i s to not be i denti cal to i tel f ' i n Col e,
+ 002: 1 1 .
To argue correct l y about anythi ng whether real or i magi nary, one mu. t
sti k t the rul es of rati nal argument. The e rul are studi ed by D rmal
( or mathemati al l ogi c the mo , t ab t ra t and theref r t h ' most general
and portabl e of al l sci ences. We need 1 gi c not to generat idea but to
che k them for gency and to sp t dangerous nonsen e ' uch a ' au
thori tari an ci al i m,
"
' demo rati c central i ' m ' ( the i nt eral mechani m
of communi st part i e ert i al l abor uni on,
"
and ' war on terror. '
Logi c deal s wit h con ept ' uch a th ' prcdi at ' i s democrat i c "
a. wel l a. wi th proposi ti on, or . tatements, . uch as "Onl y democracy
, at' guard. human ri ght. . ' Cone pt. ar de, i gnated by symbols such
a. words wher a, propo. itions are desi gnated by sentence, i n som
l anguage. Si nce ther ar , everal thousand, of l anguages one and th
, am concept can be d , i gnated by thousand, of symbol s; proposi t i on,
ar paral l el . Onl y proposi t i on. or statem nt. can be t ru or fal s to som
degree. For in tance, ' l i berty i nei t her tru nor fal ' e, wh rea ' ' Li berty
mu t be ei ther conquered or defended' i arguabl y t rue. However l ogi c
i s concered wi th preci ' i on and formal val i di t y i n part i cul ar l ogi cal
consequence, not l rut h. I ndeed the pri nci ple and rule ' of l ogi c hol d
r gardJ ess of content and l ruth-val ue.
Paradoxical l y, t h l ogi cal a umpti on and thei r consequence ' are
empty. They . tate nothi ng in part i cul ar, which i ' why they are cal l ed
laU% ies. Yet, ore poli ti ci an. love tautologie , ei ther out of i gnorance
or becau ' they do not comIni t u . to anyt hi ng. For xampl , Pre ident
Georg W. Bu h once procl ai med: "Tho e who enter th country i l l egal l y
vi ol ate t he l aw. ' H al ' o i n ented t he . l ogan ' War on terror, ' whi ch i .
a contradi cti on i n di . gui e i nce war i the wor. t terror.
Logi c does not handle entence that fai l to represent propo i t i ons
uch a que t ions request , regret , i mp rati ve , and counterfact ual . But
of cour e que t i on , reque t regret , and i mperati ve , though de oi d of
truth-val ue , are i ndi pen abl e. The ame cannot be ai d of contrary to
fact tatement , even though they are rampant in pol i t ical rhetori c. Re
member what the are pol i ti ci an ci ted abo e ai d: ' If we had not i nvaded
Iraq t hi \voul d now be a terrori t nur. ery." Contrary to the wide pread
bel i ef that the per on i n que ti n i f nd of utteri ng l ies that parti cul ar
1 0 Political Philosoph
sentence i s nei ther true nor fal s . Howe er i t igni fe roughl y the . ame
as the decl arat i ve . entence "We attacked Traq becau, e i t was bound to
become a terrori . t nursery. ontrary to the corre. pondi ng counterfact ua]
sentence t hi . one doe. express a proposi ti on, though one that i. nei ther
supported nor undenlli ned by any evidence, whence it cannot be a . . i gned
a t ruth-val ue. We onl y know t hat f i ve year, after bei ng i n aded, Iraq ha.
become a breedi ng ground of "terrori . t. . ' aL O cal 1 ed ' i nsurgent. ' or
, patri ots ' by ore. Th moral i that ounterfa tual s houl d b handled
wi th care, parti ul arl y in matters of l i fe and death.
The H t i mportant of al l l ogi a rul e arc the l aw of non-contradi -
ti on and the i nference rul e cal l 'd modus ponens. The f rm r tate ' that
th joi nt a 'rti on of a propo i t i n and i ts deni al i fal se: A and not-A i '
fal se regardle of the content of A. And the Inodus pOllen i the rul e:
From A and 'if A t hen B ' deduce B.
Paradoxi cal l y, contradi ction. are xce . . i v l y fert i l e, a. th y entai l
any proposi ti on. what . oev r. By cont rast , th conj uncti on of "I f A, t h n
B ' wi th B ntai L nothi ng. To cl ai m t hat i t does i. to i ncur a cI a . . i caJ
fal 1 acy. For i n. tance, from t he gen ral i zat ion "Th r pre. ntat i ve. who
ke p thei r word are reel ect d,' and the datum "He was r el ected ' i t doe.
not fol l ow that he kept hi s word. In fact e ery body of r pre. ntat i ve.
i . ful l of people who have repeatedl y broken t hei r promi ses.
Logi c i ' t hen t he torchl i ght that hel p ' us ' pot wrong argument . But
how do we argue for the logi cal rul es? W eldom do becau e any val i d
argument about anyt hi ng i nvol ve ' t he rul es of debate. Drop the l aw of
non-contradi ct i on, and you U i ncur the cheap t of al l fal si t i es: contra
di cti on, whi ch amount ' to l osi ng the debate. And i f on drop ' the modus
ponen q one i . unabl e to concl ude anythi ng from any et of premi . e , not
even to check whether they b get contradi ct i on. Thu . l ogic the l ea t of
con trai nt upon rati onal di cour e be ide cl ari ty i. not only e " nt i al
to al l ound di cour e: i t al 0 k ep u from fal l i ng i nto ei ther nothi ng
ne or ev ryt hi ng.
Thi i why Hei degger. Ja ' per Gadamer, Arendt. Derri da. lrigaray,
Vatt i mo, and the other so-cal led po t modem rejected logi c: I rrat i ona]
i ty al l owed them to put word together without worryi ng about en e,
l et al one coherence and e i dence ( ee Edward 2004) . And of cour e
i rrat i onal i m hel p di ctator . for it di arms anal y i s and cri t i ci m and
repl ace uui er al t heorie wi th tri bal b Hefs. Thi s i s why fa ci m, i n
al l of i ts ver i on , ought "to f i ght the very i dea of objecti ve truth and
universal r ason" Kol nai 1 938: 59 .
Philosophical Background 11
I t L nearly i nl po sible to argue wit h p ople who excel i n e oteric
gi bberi sh and i gnore the rule. of rati onal debate. For i n. tance how can
anyone argue in fa or or agai nst Hei degger . ( 1 954: 76 e. oteri c a . . er
ti on that Bei ng "i s I t i t self . The po. tmoderni st Gi anni Vatti mo call.
t hi s ki nd of ' thi nki ng," whi ch he commend" "weak thi nki ng. I t hi nk i t
de. er e . bei ng called pseudothinkin + E oteri ci m, commended by Leo
St rau . . , serve. to conceal vacui ty or mal i ce. Howe er let u, go back to
g ' nui ne rea olung- lear and ogent argument.
Logi c i s the m t general and therefore al s the most ab tract) of al l
sci ences be ause i t i s topi c-neutral hence portabl ' from one feld to the
n 'xt. Thi s i s why ther ' an be n poli t i al l ogi any more than hemical
l ogi c. However, logi lea v 's practi al rea ni ng out : it doc not cov 'I
i nference pattern uch a t hi :
I f that nati on i . attacked i t will retali ate.
R t ali at i on i . bad.
That nation shoul d not b attack d.
Thi s i s an i n. tance of practi cal rea. oni ng. I t rel at . fact. rather than
tatement " and i t i nvolve ' a value j udgment s and an imperat i ve. We
hall return to practi cal rea oni ng i n Chapter 8 Secti on 2. For the t ime
bei ng, ' uffice it to note that hone ,t poli t i cal di scourse contai n pract i cal
a ' well a logi cal arguments.
Rat i onal debate i ' not pri vat i v of academic l i fe: i t i s al O a feat ure
of democracy. I ndeed, poli ti cal tri fe and the admi ni ' ( rati on of the com
monwealth i nvol e rat i onal delib rati on ' about rnean and nd . e en for
the i nv nt i on and xecuti on of dumbi ng poli t i cal campai gn uch a the
Nazi appeal to 'blood and ' oil. ' But of cour ' rati onal d bate, though
n ce ary. i . n er ' uffcient . Only naive rati onali t coul d bel i e that
poli t i al confi ct . can be re olved exclu i vel y by rati onal di ' U ' i on:
rati onali ty hould gui de poli t i cal cont e t, i f onl y to mi ni mi z damage
but it cannot replace t ruggle. Regrettably, i ntere ts backed by force can
overpower t he mo t cogent arguments: God fa or the go d guy when
t hey outnumber t he bad.
Rat i onality i 0 much taken for granted in al l walk of l i fe, that we
fi nd i rrati onal behavi or un ett 1 i ng, and t hat some mili tary t rategi t have
recommended imulati ng i rrat i onali ty to confu e and care t he enemy .
Schelli ng 1960 called t hi p I i Y th "rati onali t y f i rrati onali t y" and
Presi dent Ni x n Profe or Ki . . i nger's star pupi l cal led i t the "madman
1 2 Political Philosoph
theory. " I n playi ng wi r h rati onal i ty those people along wi t h t hei r Sovi et
counterpart , were playi ng wit h the survi val of the human speci es.
Let u. deal bri efl y wi th t he oncept of a t heory. Some pol i t i cal
sci ent i st equate pol i ti cal t heory wi th normati ve poli tol ogy or poli t i
cal philoc ophy, or . oci a] engi neeri ng . ThL u. age i i di o. yncrati c and
mi . leadi ng, for i n all the mat ure . ci ence. a theory i . under. tood a. a
hypotheti co-deduct i ve sy. tem, by contra. t to an i sol ated hypothe. i s or
an unst ructured et of hypothe e . In oth r w rd , what i ' typi al of a
th ory i ' that ' ry statement i n it i an i ni t i al a umpti on or po tulate ,
a def ni t i on or a l ogi aJ conse u n of one or more a ' ' umpti on ' or
defni t i on ' . Howe er 00 , t of what pa for theOl"i ' , in p lj ti eal ' i ' n '
ar actually , ne-Ij n ' the ri e ,
"
that i hypothese , ueh a ' All war '
ar about eeon mi e re our ' s. '
Her ' i s an ad hoc example of a mj ni t heory an illu ' trati on of Mert n' ,
thesi . on t he uni ntended i n part i cul ar p r ers consequ nce. of . oci al
acti on:
l. Welfare legi lation pr m te pr perity.
2. Pr perity fav r the Rioht.
3. Y Ifare legi lari n fay rs the Righr.
P . t ulate 1 and 2 joi ntly entru l the onelu. i n 3. The t hree proposi
ti on. taken tog ther con ti tute a t i ny c nceptual y tem-a con i tent i f
some\vhat parad xi cal t heoreti cal model.
Fi nal ly a wanl i ng. Poli ti al theorie are not to be confu ed wi t h p -
lit ical doctri ne the way La well and Kaplan 1 950: xi i i di d i n thei r
i nfuent i al b ok. A poli t ical do tri ne such as li berali m or s ci al i m i
an i deology' and O far a I know no i deology ha ever been organi zed
a a hypotheti co-deducti e y tern. I n fact i deologi e are ordi narily
pre ented a collecti on of l ogan uch ' Freedom or death! and "Free
trade or bu t ! And poli t i cal logan are call to action rather than te table
hypothe e . We hal l rerurn to i deologi e in Chapter 4.
2. Political emantics: .feaning and Tuth
S manti c. has got a bad r putati on a. bi ng an i nane di sput about
word. or v n as verbal t ri ckery. However phi lo. ophi cal . manti cs i .
a . ri ous di . ci pl i ne for it deal. wi t h meani ng and t ruth each of whi ch
can ei ther . hi ne or b shunn d i n pol i t i cal di . course. H nce no seri ou.
philosophi cal . y. tem can fail to contai n semanti c theorie . . L t u. gli mpse
at t he two concept. i n questi on.
Philosophical Background 13
Meani ng i , a property of ' onstru ' ts i . e. , 'oncept propo, i t i on , and
theori es. It may be defi ned a reference together wi th en, e, or denota
tion cum connotat i on. If ei ther of the, e components i , empty, there is no
construct proper. Yet mo, t phi l o opher, ca11 'non-referri ng' a con, truct
wi th no counterpart i n the real worl d. Thi s u, e is mi taken, for a1 1 con-
truct referri ng to i magi nary enti ti e,
"
uch a, "Zeu, , Hamlet ' "utopia,
"perfect compet i ti on, and "Iraqi weapon, of ma" de, t ructi on, ' refer to
such ' nt i t i e and ha ve rather 1 ' ar sense . In other word all c nstTuct
prop r r fer-some to real i tems t hers to i magi nary ones.
Ari totl rightly r ommended that we tart any di cussi on by mak
i ng lear what i t wi ll be about . In moder terms: Start by spcci fying
y ur uni verse of di scourse, r reference lass. F r i n tanc ' w ' mll t
di st i ngui 'h p li t i cal act i n from poli t ical sci ence from the phi lo ophy
of p l it i al ci ence whi ch refer only i ndi r ctly to poli ti cs.
lhIOOph O!p IIOO lOIIOOj
J
^_
lOIIIC
Fi . 1.2 The arro symbolizes the reference function. The arrow *_from
philosophy of political scienc to politics equals th' compo "ilion of 7_ and 7.
Meani ng will be fuzzy i f i ther or both of i t component. reference
and en" , i vague. Vaguene i a eri ou defect becau "e logi c only
hold for exact oncept ' . lnde d, if con truct A i fuzzy, 0 i not-A
whence A do not ati f the pri nci ple of non-contradi cti on that i ' The
conj un l i on of A and not-A i fal e. ' Nor i vali d i nf renc po i ble wi th
ague propo i ti on . In parti cular not-B doe not in alidate "If A, then B
"
whenever B i hardl y di t i ngui hable from not-B . And yet the poli tical
di cour e i full of vague not i on , uch a tho e of power and L i bert y.
Vaguene can be 0 extreme a to b hardly di t i ngui hable from
empt i ness. Bi marck s famou formul a 'Poli t i c i the art of the po -
i bl e i a ca e in poi nt . I ndeed any craft from poetry and mathemati c
to engi neeri ng and medi ci ne. deal wi th po i bi li ti e . whi ch i t attempt
to e ither actualize r fru, trate. A mathemati cal onjecture i s a po ible
theorenl a bluepri nt a possible con tructi n a parl i amentary bi ll a pos-
i bl e law and so on. True the oncept of possi bili t y is nt ral to much
ontemporary phi losophy i n parti cul ar po ible-world ontology, \vhich
deals wit h fanta t i "world . " But t he noti on i nvol ved i n t he specula
t i on is i mpreci e and alien t the concept of r a1 p i bi li ty u ed in the
1 4 Political Philosoph
mature sciences ( Bunge 2006 . In the. e, th adverb 'possi bly' applie to
fact not propo, i ti on, . Moreover the concept of real po" i bili ty depend.
upon that of . i enti fc l aw. whi ch i . a1 i en t o formal l ogi c. I ndeed, i n
phy i cs and other factual sci ences one say. that a fact i real1 y possi ble
ju, t i n ca, e i t i, compat i bl e wi th the relevant 1 aw . .
To put i t formall y: The fact de, cri bed by propo, i ti on p i s reall pos
sibl' " There i s at 1 east one l aw , t atement L . uch that the conj uncti on
of p wi t h L i t rue. Thi con cpt of real pos i bi li t y i s radi al ly different
from that of oncept uaJ pO ' ' i bili ty whi ch may be d fned a follow .
The con t ruct p i s onceptuall., pO' 'ible in the bod of /unt ledge B i f
p d es n t contradi ct any memb 'I f B. M dal l ogi and the theorie '
bui lt around it nfate th ' tw ncept of po i bi li ty that we ha e ju t
di t i ngui shed ce Bung 2006a .
So mu h for meani ng. A f r truth let u tart by not i ng that i t me '
in . e eral ki nd, : formal factual moral and art i . t i c. The formal truth, ,
such a. 'A or not-A" and' I > 0,' h01 d r gardl es, of the state of the world
b cau. they do not ref r to it. They belong in logi c or math mat i c, . By
cont rast , the factual truth" such a, "Canada i s a sov rei gn country "
are cont i ngen for anada u, d to b a colony, and it may y t 1 0. e i t .
i ndep ndence.
Moral t ruth , ref r to moral fact ' uch as helpi ng people i n di ' tre ' s,
and i mmoral fact ' uch a ' bombi ng ci vi li an popul at i on ' . The the i ' that
there are mordl t ruths and fal ' i ti e ' i ' pcubar to moral reali sm a minori ty
vi ew. Fi nall y the arli , ti c truth are i milar to the formal one ' i n that they
are i magi nary but di fferent from them becau ' e they cannot be proved.
Poli t ical sci ence i s expcted t o fnd fact ual t rut h , and poli ti cal phi
lo ophy i uppo ed to deal wi th bot h poli tologi al and moral t rut h . . A.
u ual i n phi lo ophy there are e era] vi ew conc ri ng factual truth.
Here ar the mai n one :
Radi al kepticisl11 = Th r are no t rut h ' -hence no fal jt i e ejther.
R lati ism = Tmth i local i . e. t ri be-depend nt-hence multi ple.
Pr 19matism = Truth i the same a u efulnes -hence never di j nter
e ted.
Conventionali'm = Truth js di guj sed defni ti on-hence i n en i t i ve to
evi dence.
Realism = Truth js adequacy of i dea to fact.
Radi cal skepti ci sm i d feati t and relati v i H is If-de truct i ve for
if t rue then rel at i vi m i t If cannot be uni r all y t rue. Besjdes relati v-
Philosophical Background 15
i sm makc. no room for t h uni vcL al t ruth i nvcnt d by mathcmati c and
di co ered by the . ci enee and te hnologi e . . The po tmodern. are either
radi cal . kept i c, or relat i vi . L. Pragmati . m or i nstrumentali . m attempt.
to repl ace reali ty check wi th u efulness test. : i t take . . uece" for t ruth.
Conventi onali . m i gnore t hat fact ual truth, are not arbi trary, i nce they
mu, t be . upported by evi dence' and that defni ti on, may be more or Ie, ,
u, eful but are nei ther true nor fal e. And e1 i ti ts ' reveal what they regard
as the truth to the few wi thout endangering the unquali fed commi tln nt of
the many t t h opi ni on on whi ch so i ety re ts ' ( Strauss 1 9 8: 222 .
Only r ' al i ' m accounts D r the fact ' that we mu t expl re the world to
fnd truth ab ut it, and t hat m t such truth have no practical u ' be au e
they r 'f 'r to fact s that arc bey nd human ontr 1- uch a th pa t fact
and the c ents that O ur i n ' ide t ars or byond our solar sy tem.
And yet there have recently been me di cu i on ' about t he real i t y
or unreali ty of nat i on . . I t has b n cl ai med t hat nat i on. ar fgment. of
th collect i v i magi nat i on j u. t becau. e non of t h m would exi . t unl . .
th i r suhjects and n i ghhor. believed in t hem. However nati on, pa, s
qui t ordi nary r ali ty checks. Th y can i nteract wi t h ach oth r. ei ther
peaceful1 y or vi ol ntly as a con. quenc of whi ch t hei r terri tori , can
i ther xpand or . hri nk and thei r peoples get ri ch r or poorer. rn any
event i f nati on ' were i magi nary, O would be war, whi ch would be
conveni ent to all e cept the war profi teer . Be ' ide ' , t h ' are appli e ' to
aU the other oci a) constructi on ' . For i nstance, we would not hop at the
upermarket unle ' s we beli eved in it ' exi tence.
ati ons are O real that i t would be i mpossi ble to i nvade Thoma '
Mor ' . Utopia or Jonathan wi f Li lli put or to trade wi th them, [or
both are i ndeed i magi nary nat i on . What j t ru i ' that nati on. are made
not found: they are ' oi al art i fact . But the i magi nati on requi red to form
reforrn or de ' t roy nati on i of the arn ki nd that engi n r u e to d . j gn
i mprov . mai nt ai n, or uti li ze machi ne .
The denti t who tudy fa t , u h a the politologj t are r ali t ,
i n ofar a th y . eek to fnd out truth ' about t h chunk of the world they
tudy. A po i ble defi ni ti on of factual t ruth is thi . A propositi n p ele-
ribing a fa ,t f is true = iff happen' as de cribeel b) p. Thi defi ni ti on
may be enl i ghteni ng but, to be u ed, i t mu t be accompani ed by a t ruth
cri teri on, t hat i , a rule for recogni zi ng when a propo i ti on i true. Here
i s one uch cri terion. A proposition p referrin to a fa ,t f is true in the
light of e ieen e e = The eli repan bef een p and e is Ie s than the
loteran e or error agreed 011 beforehand.
16 Political Philosoph
Sci enti m hold. that . oci al sci ent i st . houl d eek truthc ju t a rigor
ou. ly a. thei r col 1 eague. in the nat ural sci ences. I n part i cul ar. pol i ti al
theori e . . houl d be a. true ( real L ti ) a, possi bl e. Thi . goal i . not . hared
by the henneneuti c or i nterpreti i st or "humani . t hool whi ch i gnore.
the sci enti sti c i nj uncti on Seek evi dence for or agai nst your theorie . . ' For
i nstance de. pi te hi s admi ration for Hannah Arendt Horowi tz 1 999: 4 1 3)
depl ores ' her unwi l l i ngne . . to support her theory wi th evi dence '-an
atti tude that evi dently di qual i fe her a a pol i t i al cientist.
Besi des, the hermeneut i c ( or hUl1ani t i " ch 01 er ct a wal J
betw ' n t h ' ci al and the natural realm , a well a between thei r COI~
re pondi ng tudi es. For example Searle 1 995 : 27 lai l1 that th r ar '
two ategories f fa t : brute, uch a ' a land t ide and in t ituti onal , uch a '
a conv '! at i n. But land ' li d can have oci al auses and conscquen e ;
and con er ' ati on and al l ther 0 i al i ntera t i on , arc bioso i al rather
than purel y . oci al , si nce t h y i nvol e Ii i ng p rson . . Thi s is why there
are hi o. oci al sci ence. , such as geography demography p. ychol ogy and
anthropol ogy al l of whi ch ut i l i ze t he sci nt i fc m thod, and thu. trespa . .
the natural/soci al and t h humani . t ic/. c ienti fi c fronti ers.
St i l l h rmeneuti ci st. and oth r postmoderni . U hav b n mod ratel y
effect i i n . l owi ng down t h progre . . of t he soci al . ci ence. a. wel l a.
i n rei nforci ng the popul ar prej udi ce agai n t th m. Even uch a di t i n
gui hed pol i tol ogi st a Bernard Cri ck ( 1 992: 1 87) fell under the pel l of
heml eneut i c ' , and ' eel11ed to echo Michel Foucaul t when he decl ared
that ' [ p] ol i ti cal theory is it ' elf pol i t i cal . ' I f t hi ' were true, poli ti cal
methodology would be unnec ary and the worth of poli t ical theori e
could be a ' ' ed by poll i ng. What are poli t ical are oci al poli ci e . The ' e,
li k any oth r technologi cal i tem " are to be judged by th i r effcacy or
otherwi e in ad anci ng cert ai n i ntere t .
Noti ce t hat Max Web r 1 98 b not wi t h t andi ng, obj ct i ve truth i .
not t h arne a . ei ther val ue-neutrali ty or i mpart i al i ty. S i ent i fi reo earch
i nvolve alue j udgment , uch a "Explanati on trump. d eri pti on. '
And ore . ci nt i fi c fi ndi ng er e to ei ther . upport or undermi ne publ ic
pol i ci es. For i n tance, stati t i c uggest t hat generou wel fare l egi lat i on
i an effecti e fert i l i ty control . There i s nothi ng di rectl y pol i t i cal , hence
relati e about t hi s result of demographi c re earch.
And yet, i n the facul t i e of art i n the Northern hemi phere. anti -real
i l1-i n part icul ar con truct i i m-rel ati vi sm-i nowaday more popular
than reali m. One rea on for the populari ty of relat i vi m i that it i
und mandi ng. By denyi ng the po i bi l i ty of fndi ng bject i ve truth. i t
regard. every a ademi c di sci pli ne as one nl r narrati or dt. COU:e-a
Philosophical Background 17
variety of l i terat ure rather than , "i cnee and t hu a matter of taste rather
than test. Stori es do not can for t i me-con. umi ng , earch for evi dence. AI 1
we want from a , tory i. that it be entertai ni ng. Surel y the vi ew of , oci al
tudi es as narrati ve ha nothi ng to do wi th , eri ous schol arshi p. It i . j u, t
t ri vi al wordmanshi p-a di . t urbi ng i ndi cator of the current decl i ne of
the humani st i c cul ture and i L further e, t rangement from the i ntel l ectual
engines of moderi t y, namel y , ci ence and technol ogy.
How ' vcr, i t woul d be mi taken t r gard rel at i v i m a ne more
harml es extravagance n par wi t h i ntui t i ni m, phenomenology, or the
phi l o ophical tra agance about paral lel world . I ndeed rel ati i m
el i i ts a Yli al v iew of p l j ti c i n d ' nyi ng that there can be uni versal
human rights, and in affrmi ng that al l moral and pl i t i al rule arc just a
l ocal a regi onal food typi cal dre s, and fol k art . I n part i ular rel at i i m
j usti fe ' nati onal i sm and it undermi n a efforts to eradi ate pol i ti cal
oppressi on tort ur . and ev n genoci de. It i . t hu. i ncompat i bl e wi th t h
Uni ted Nat i on, and the Internati onal Cri mi nal Court .
That sai d th , ci nt i fc real i . t acknowl edges what may be cal l ed t h
Rashomol1 effe t, after Aki ra Kurosawa , cI a" i c fi l m. Thi s i s th fact
that al mo, t any . oci at fact i. l i kel y to be percei v d di ff r nt l y by di ff r-
nt actors or wi tn , se . . Thi s happens som t i m s from mal i ce but mor
often from prejudi ce or l ack of i nformati on. ypi cal l y we under ' tand
far better 'people l i ke u: that i s, member of the i n-group, than ' th m,"
the i ndi vi dual s i n the out -group.
In natural ci ence t ruth counts ' upremel y, whereas mere opi ni on doe '
not . By cont rat opi ni on count very much i n ' oci al l i fe and i t ' ci ence '
becau e b l i ef , regardl .. of t hei r truth- val ues, gui de mi ' gui de, or
paral yze acti on. I n met aphorical term ' . oci al fact . rea h U refracted
by our bel i f and i ntere t . Thi ' do not entai l that obj ect i ve tmth i '
unattrunabl e in oci al matter '0 that rel ati i t. woul d be ri ght after al l :
i t onl y mean that t here are ob. tacI e ' i n t h earch for truth about ' oci al
l ife t hat are not pr ent i n the earch for trut h about natur . More on con-
tructi i m-rel at i vi m in Gel l ner 1 985' Bunge J 99 1 - J 992. 1 999; Boudon
and Clavel i n 1 994; Boudon 2004; Bogho i an 2006, Jar i e 2007. )
The Ra homon effect go a l ong way t o explai ni ng why the oci al
cience are far I e advanced than t he natural ones even though we
al l have i n i de i nformati on about oci al facts becau e we make t hem
wherea our acce to natural facts, uch a atomi c col l i i on , chemi cal
reacti ons, and peci at i on, i ext remely i ndi rect . Be i de t he Ra homon
ffe t there i what may be aI l ed t he Big BrOTher efect. Thi s i . t he de
l iberat abotage of ,0 i al s i ence re earch on the part of authori t ari an
1 8 Political Philosoph
and con. ervat i ve government because it may come up wi t h trut h that
annoy or even endanger the powers that be. Thu , there wac no poJ i t i
cal . ci ence under total i tari an rul e, and t he Reagan admi ni t rati on cut i n
hal f t he federal subsi di e. t o soci al reo earch whi l e keepi ng the . upport
for the natural sci ences. Ironi cal 1 y. Bi g Brother s fear wa. exaggerated,
for no soci al ci enti . L predi ted, or even correct l y autopsi ed. any of the
so i al earthquake. of the twenti eth cent ury, . uch a. the two worl d war. ,
th Great Depre i n, the Am ' ri an defeat at the hands of Vi etnam
pea ant , the crumbl i ng of the S vi et empi re th ' revi val of ni netccnth
cent ury econ mic l i beral i H. or the i nt ru i on of r 'l i gi n i nto pol i ti s.
3. Political Ontology: Being and Becoming
Ont 1 gy (or H taphY ' i has arned a bad r 'putati on among ci n-
t i st s b cause most of i t i . i ther non. n. i cal or fal se. Why then shoul d
pol i t i cal phi losoph r. pay any attenti on to i t . Becau. ontol ogy deal .
wi th bei ng and becomi ng in g n ral by contra. t to the part icul ar . ciences,
which deal with parti cul ar bei ngs, such a. humans and part i cul ar changes,
such as the emergence reform. and ext i nct ion of pol i t i cal sy. t ms-el
d r . a. s mbl i es town hal l s, I gi sl at i ve bodi es gOY r nm nt s pol i ti cal
parti . , and thei r chang s. Hence to di smi . . al l ontol ogy i . t o gi e up the
hop of pl aci ng part i cul ars i n a general framework or worl dvi ew. Bad
ontology i confusi ng or mi l eadi ng, but a phi lo ' ophy wi thout ontology
i ' pi nel e " . And those wi thout a worl d vi ew are bound to borrow bit
and pi ece ' of unexami ned worldvi ews.
Contemporary metaphysi ci an ' are more i nterested i n fantasy worl d
than i n the real worl d. So much O. that one wi l l ' earch i n vai n i n the
tandard phi l o ophi cal di t ionarie , for entrie on - y tern and rnechani m,
h\o key ontol ogi cal concepts in cience i nce the Sci ent i fc Re ol ut i on.
Un urpri ' i ngl y. rno t phi lo ' opher and oci al - i nt i t , ha e ei t h r i g
nored t he concep or mi U d th m. For exampl e i kl a Luhmann
1 987: 1 J 3 Haberma ' authori t y on o oci al - y ter . con ei ed of them
a de oi d of p opl : ' Soci al y ter . . . con i t of communi cat i on and
not hi ng but communi cati on -not of human bei ng . ' And Col eman
1 992: 1 4 hel d that formal organi zati on . uch a government , "ha e
po i t i on rather than per on a element of thei r t ructure '-whi ch,
if t rue, woul d make them i mmateri al object . Hence nuclear bomb ,
plague , and other calami t i e woul d not affect corporati on anie , or
school : they would ' urvi e' them becau e they contai n no Hfe.
El ster 1 989a) l i k ned m chani . m t o the " nuts and bol ts" of a ma
chi ne. But of our a broken watch i s not a t i mepiece an abandon d
Philosophical Background 19
factory L ju t a bui l di ng a dL cnfranchi cd ' i ti zcnry i s not a pol i ty and
a country wi thout an effecti ve govemment i . not a nati on. A, concei ved
i n the natura] , ci ence" from phy. i c, to bi ol ogy mechani sms are not
t hi ng, but proce . . e. i n system, . More preci . el y a mechani sm i a pro
ce" that construct. a sy. tem or keep. i t goi ng: a proce" that perform,
a . peci fc functi on requi red for its per, i. tence. So i al exampl e : work
and management. More on mechani , m, in Pi ckel +04; Bunge 2006;
Hed trom 2006.
In other word , mechani m arc l i fe-or-death proce 'S l i teral l y in the
ca ' or organi sms and metaphori al l y i n al l ther cases. For in tance,
aU tat usc taxat i on a t h ir mai n rev ' nue-g ' nerat i ng mechani sm,
and al l mod rn tate have u d compul sory el ementary s hool i ng and
mi l i tary draft a nati on-bui ldi ng mechani sms. Li k wi e war i s a l arg '~
scale theft mechani sm' n 'got i ati on a confi t -re ol ut i on mechani 01;
and d l iherat ion-cum-vot i ng. the col i ct i v deci . i on-maki ng mechani . m
charact ri stic of a pol i t i cal d mocracy. onsequent l y the fa, hi onabl
phrase "'del i brati ve d mocracy" i s pl eona. ti c.
Let u. now move from ontol ogi cal cone pt. to ontol ogi cal t h ori s.
There are two major ontol ogi cal or m t aphy. i cal ) fami l i , : i deal i , m
cul t ural i sm hermeneuti c, , and materi al i . m. Accordi ng to i deal i sm al l
ent i t i e ' are onl y i dea ' or ' ymbol ' , or rul ed mai nl y by i dea ' or symbol s.
For exampl e Hei degger 1 954: 5 hel d that ' [ l ] anguage is th house
of Bei ng. And a Charle ' Tayl or put it famou ' ly, ' oci al facts would
be ' text or l i ke text ' . ' Hence ' al es lecti on wac and th I j ke houl d
be endowed wi th grammar, meani ng and st yl e. Magi c- rel jgi ou thi nk
i ng i s back.
By contra. t for mat ri al i m pol i ti cal enti ti e are concr t e ( or materi al )
t hi ng ' from ci t i zen to nati on to t he i nt mat i onal comrnuni t y; fact are
tate or chang of tate of t hi ng ' , whether nat uraL 0 i al , or bi o ' oci al
l i ke u
.
and i dea ar brai n proc e whi ch i . why they can gui de
acti on . Thu a dj cour e about nat i on i r I e ant onl y i f nat i on ' are
vi ewed a concrete t hi ng rather than exi t i ng onl y di cur ' i v l y-e. g.
a ' i magi ned cool muni t i e
"
as Benedi ct Ander on 1 98 put i t.
I deal i sm ouod convi nci ng becau e i t ri ghtl y emphasi ze the cri ti cal
rol e of i dea i n pol iti cal struggle a wel l as i n go emance. But i deal i m
rei fi e i dea and exaggerates thei r i mpact on soci ety; furt hermore, i t
confu e fact wi t h our i dea about them, and con equeotl y i t i bl i nd
to t he weat and bl ood of human confi ct . For exampl e, i t i at l ea t
doubtful that total i tari ani sol wa the di re t brai n hi l d of t he i deal i t
phi l o. ophi es of Pl ato and Hegel a Popper ( 1 945 claimed' or of the
20 Political Philosoph
French Enl i ghtenment a, Tal mon 1 970 hel d' or of Carte i an dual i H .
as Arendt ( 1 989) i magi ned. Surel y such i dea, were pra t i cal l y effecti e
because they hel ped de i gn and i mpl ement pol i cie, that ad anced certai n
powerful materi al i nterest .
Wi ld exaggerati on. of the i mpact of phi l o, ophy on pol i ti cs, as wel l
as the confu, i on of fact wi th i dea" come natural l y to i ntel l ectual . who
onl y handle text. : They tend to confuse goaL wi th meani ng" ocl al
movement ' wi th id I gi e , and la polifique wit h Ie dis 'our' polifique.
They wi ll al di scuss pol j t ical t heories 'paratel y from real l y exj st i ng
o i eti es a wel l as from pol i ti cal movement ' .
For exampl e, Martha u baum ( 2006: 88 b ' l ieves that I t ] heorie '
of s cial ju ti e houl d b ab tract . . . f r we cannot j ust i fy a pol i ti al
th ory unl ess w ' can h w that it can be stable over t i m ' r ' ei i ng
ci t i zen support for m r t han ' I f-prote t i ve r i n trumental reason . '
Surel y ab, t racti on guarante , general i t y hoth of whi ch are nece, , ary i n
mathemati cs. B ut pol i ti cal t h ory doe, not b l ong i n pure math mati c"
for i t deals wi th pol i ti e. whi ch ar mi n nt ly changeabl e becau, e t h y
are concr te not ideal . In part icul ar i t i . poi ntl ss to I i , t the condi ti on.
for soci al j usti c . parat I y from t h . oci al , t ructure of real , oci et i e.
as W 1 1 as from the ari ou. soci al mo em nl. that cl ai m to fi ght for or
agai nst it. Thus the soci al ju t ice attai nabl e in a l i beral democracy i
si gni fi cant l y ' tj ngi er than the one pur ' ued by the ' oci al i st HO ement
of variou . ki nd ( E ' pi ng-Andersen 1 990) . An ab ' tract concept of oci al
j u , t i ce i s apol i t i cal and ahi tori cal ; i t i a pol i ti cal fct ion.
Besi de ' , i deal i m lead to l opsided and hal l ow views, [or pol i t i c "
though fought l argel y wi t h word i about materi al i ntere ,t nol i deas
in them ' 1v . l et al one word ' , For i n tance. the end rni c confi ct in th
Near Ea. t ar oi l l and. and water war rather than ' cul tur cl a h . . ' a.
ugge ted by the fact that Saudi Arabi a and Paki tan t wo of the cI o -
e t al l ie of the Uni t d State , ar authori t ari an and I l ami c rat h r than
demo rati and Chri t i an.
In addi t ion to the ideal i m/materi al i m ' pl i t , t her i th . tati c/dy
nami c one. A tati c ontology hol d that change i onl y a momentary
depart ure from equi l i bri um or harmony whi ch would b the i deal tate
of affai r - uch a t he el u i ve market equi l i bri um gl ori fed by tandard
economi c , and the tran i ent bal ance of power recommended by pol i ti cal
theori t -a bal ance that. i nci dental l y, became i mpo i bl e the moment
only one great power remai ned.
Dynami ci m or pro e uaI i m hol d to the ontrary t hat tasi i
a part i cul ar and ephemeral ca e of proce : that every state f a t hi ng
Philosophical Background 2 1
i s i t hcr t h i ni t ial i ntcrmcdi ary or fnal phac c of a proce . Al l of thc
authenti c factual . ci ence. , from phy, i c to bi ol ogy to hi stori ography,
center on change, and , eek l aw of change or at l east trend. Hence any
cience-oriented ontol ogy i . bound to be dynami ci t. So much , O that
we may defne a concrete or materi al object a one capabl e of changi ng.
Onl y mathemati cs deal i n unchangi ng object .
Confi ct, or onti c ( as oppo. ed to l ogi cal contradi ct ion i . of course
a parti ul ar case of pro e " . Di al cti cal ont 1 gy wheth r i deali st l i ke
Heg ' 1 ' , or materi al i t l i ke Marx s, cl ai m that a change re uI ts from
confi ct r 'contradi r ion" . The confi t theori ts from Hera l it us to
Machi av ' Hi to Hobbes Smi th Heg ' l Marx, L ni n and Gram ci , empha
si zed tri D' to the poi nt of underrati ng or even ignori ng cooperati on. And
y ,t the very exi st nee f soi al n 'tworks and 'y ters of vari ou ki nd
and si zes a wel l a t he coexi ten e of group wi t h di ffer ' nt i nter 'sts,
i n ol ve a modi cum of coop rat i on. For xampl , the empl oy rs and
mpl oyee. of a bu. i ness may cl a. h wi th r gard to wag , and beneft s.
but t hey coop rate i n keepi ng t he frm afoat . Hence i t i s ju, t as wrong
to i gnor cooperati on as to overl ook conti i ct.
An agoni . t i c or contl i ct -c nt ered ont ol ogy such a. H g I ' , or
Marx' . , i s at b , t parti al l y t ru . ThL hol d, not onl y for pol i t i c. but at 0
for bu i ne . I ndeed, the economi t s who repeat t he mant ra about the
vi rtue of compet i t i on O erlook t h fact t hat compet i ti on i s , t i mul ati ng
among peer ' , but de ' t fucti e among t h unequal , whi ch i ' why smart
bu ' i ne ' ' men try to avoi d i t . Moreover, al l of the advanced economi es,
from B ri tai n' to Japan' " grew under ' tate protecti on and with t he hel p
of product i vi ty-enhancement technol ogi , that were i n ented for the
mo , t part, i n . tate- upported uni er i t i ' .
A thi rd rel evant ontol ogi cal di t i n t ion i that betwe n i ndi vi dual
i m hol i m, and y t rni m. I ndi i dual i ' m hol d that ' I t l here are no
oci eti e ' , only indi idual that i nteract wi t h each oth r ' EI ter 1 9 9b:
248 . Cornpare: Ther are no bodi e , onl y atom that i nt ract wi th each
oth r ' hence there are no emerg nt properti i ther, uch a hardne "
and al i vene . Pre umabl y. t hi i t he mi crobe ' worl dvi ew.
When appl i ed to pol it i c , i ndi i dual i m recommend focu i ng on
cit i zen . Hence i t i i ncapabl e of account i ng for the ery exi tence of
upra-i ndi vi dual enti ti e , such a armi e , government , and nati on , a
wel l a for upra-i ndi i dual processe such as development progress
and war. Indi iduali m doe not e en account for an i ndi vidual s pol i ti cal
atti t ud . i n e the e refer to sy tenlS su h as muni ci pal i ti e , and c 1 -
l ecti ve proce e such a popul ar mobi l i zati on . That sai d i t i . ob i ous
22 Political Philosoph
that i ndi vi dual i nl i ri ght i n . trc j ng the nced wi he , and ri ghts of the
per. on-part i cul arl y the need. for 1 i berty and human contact.
Hol i sm-al . O cal 1 ed . truct ural i sm and organi ci . m-focu e. on
whol e. . uch as goverments. and thei r bul k properti es such a. odal
order mi l i t ary mi ght , and fi scal debt . Con equent] y i t regard, i ndi vi dual
act i on as ei ther negl i gi bl e or the effect of pre . . ure from above. More
o er. in soci al matter. hol i . m advocates equi l i bri um and di . courage.
contenti on and rebel l ion: it j , ba ' i al l y conser ati e-a is part i cul arl y
ob IOU i n Heg ' l , Durkhei m, and Par on . Thi s alon ' how that Marx
wa not a ful l - fedg d holi t . Hol i sm empha iz duties at the ex pen '
of ri ght . However, it ha th meri t of in i st ing that `O i ety i s not ju ,t a
col l e t i on of i ndi vi dual s' that it ha bul k m 'rgent prop ' rt i , uch a '
pol i t i al r gime and tabi l i ty or i t dual ' and that ev 'ry person i s b rn
i nto a pr - i t i ng soci al ' y tem.
Regr nabl y, hol i sm i . often confu. e d wi th . yst mi . m al t hough
there ar i mportant di ff r nc . betw en th m ( Bunge 1 996a). Sy. tem
i . m combi ne. the i rtues of i ndi vi dual i . m and hol i . m: I t hol d. that al l
t hi ng. ar i th r . y. t ms or sy. tem component. -wh ther act ual or
potenti al . Thu. cont rary to hol i . m systemi . m admi t. the possi bi l i t y of
d composi ng whol es, eit her i n thought t hrough conceptual anal y. i s)
or i n pract i ce. Hence contrary t o i ndi vi dual i m ' ystemi sm ' uggest
focusi ng on system ' and th i r i nteracti ng components rather than on the
lall r. And, contrary to hol i sm ' y temi sm mai ntai ns that bul k properti es,
such a ' soci al cohe i on, voter turnout and publ i c opi nion merge from
i ndi vi dual alt i t udes act i ons, and i nteract ion ' -al l of whi ch proceed,
though, wi t hi n gi ven ocia) context ' .
Becau e of the abo ernentioned onfu i on, mo t ont rnporary oci al
cienti t di . t ru tal k of 'y tem although t h y do not object to organi c
whol whi ch i metaphorical except wi th reference to organi m . Thu.
t he mi nent al l -rounder oci al ci nt i t Charl e ' Ti l l y per onal commu
ni cat i on I Apri l , 1 998 : ' Si nce you recogni ze y ' tem where er you e
mul t i pl e l er nt t hat i nfuence each oth r I have no di ff ul ty accept
ing your bapt i m of my thi nki ng a y temi c. In my end of t he busi ne ,
however I tudi ed wi th Par ons and Soroki n, among other ) the word
, y t er 0 regul arly take on t hi ngne i ndependent of the element and
thei r relations that I boycott t he word to avoid mi under tanding. " Perhap
thi i why Gi ddens 1 984) prefer structuri sm' to ' sy temi m. ' But
struct ures are prop rti e of y tems rather than free tandi ng ent i t i e .
There i s no ub t i t ute f r y t m. If i n d ubt ask mathemat i ci an
". y ter of equati on " astronom r ( pl anetary y tenl" or biol ogi st
Philosophical Background 23
'cardi o ascul ar sy ter" . True microeconomi l ' lai m to deal wi th
i ndi vi dual s ( as wholes or sy. tems . but the theory of general equi l i bri um
regard the market a. a whol e t hat unl i ke the household. and fi rms that
compo. e i t , i s sai d to be i n equi l i bri um and to run i tsel f. And the father
of modem macroeconomi c . tated: "I am hi efl y concerned wi th the
beha iour of the economi c . y, ter as a whole Keynes 1 973: xxx i i ).
Fi nal l y I have argued el sewhere ( Bunge 1 977a 1 979a 2003a, 206a
that i t i ' po i bl e and ad i abl e to mbi n ' the ix ariet i 'S of ontol ogy
di st i ngui sh d abo e. l n patti ular on h uld ombi n material i m wi th
b th dynami i m and sy temi m. I ha e al O argu 'd at l ength Bunge
1 979a, 1 996a 1 998a, 1 999a that t h be t i al i ence has al ways been
sy temi t rather than ei t h 'r i ndi i dual i st or h I i t. On ' r 'a n i that we
resembl e goat more than ei th r porcupi nes or ' heep. We have di t i nct
p ' r nal i t i 'S but a t i n gr up for gr ups or agai n , t group .
Moreov r the sy. t mi c approach i . th on u. ed in mathemat i cs.
physi c. chemi . try bi ology psychol ogy. and ot h r sci nces. I ndeed.
al l . ci nti . ts study i ndi vi dual . a. compnent of systems, and . y. tem.
a. compo. ed of more or Ie . . . trongl y bound i ndi vidual . . For xampl .
i ndi i dual numher. ar defn d a. member. of some numher sy. t m.
and . paces a. system. of i nter-r l ated poi nts: atoms and mol ecul e. ar
y ' tems of el ementary parti cl es; cel l s are y ' tem ' of molecul es and or
ganel le ., and mul t i -cel l ular organi ' ms are 'y ' ter ' of cel l s embedded i n
eco ys( m ' persons are component ' of fami l ie ' and other soci al system ' ;
nati on ' are m mber ' of the i nterati onal communi ty-and Oon Bunge
1 979a 1 996a, 1 998b 2003 ; Bunge and Ardi la 1 987; Mahner and Bunge
1 997 . It is ' y tems all the way.
4. Political Epistemology: Knowing
Epi temology i the phi l o ophi cal tudy of knowl edge whi ch i n t urn
i th . oci al i zed product of cogni t i on. Cogni t i on a brai n proce. . i i n
di vidual , wherea knowl edge i ' ocial and l arg ly i n the publ i c domai n. )
Logi ci an and mathemati ci an hav no need for epi temology becau e
t hey use purel y conceptual means to i n ent t hei r own object , aJ ] of them
i magi nary as wel l a to di cover t hei r i nterrel at i on . Not 0 the t udent
of the real world. whether natural or oci al . Since t hey face real t hi ngs
t hey have to take eri ou l y the mai n probl em of epi temol ogy, whi ch i
whether anyt hi ng can b known and, i f 0 whether through exp ri ence
cogitat i on, or bot h.
Bpi temology can be either de cri pti ve or n r1at i ve. We hal l peek
at both branche f epi temology. Th hi tory of epi t mol ogy i l ittered
24 Political Philosoph
wit h the corpse of doctri ne that ha e , c1 dom if ev r advanced the tudy
of real i t y. Let u. exami ne the most i nfl uenti al of t hem, start i ng wi th
skept i ci sm. Accordi ng to radi cal kepti ci . m, nothi ng can be known-a
sel f-de, tructi e thesi , . Moderate , kept i ci , m by contra, t , hold. that some
thi ng. can be known though sel dom wi th accuracy and that knowl edge
of mat ters of fact i . , el dom perfect, O that i t advance, t hrough cri ti ci . m
as wel 1 a re earch. I t i . t hus both fa1 1 i bi l i t al ert t o error and mel i ori st
hopeful of i mpr vem nt .
Ju t a moderate ' kept i ci m i s the mark f the ' i ' nt i t, so dogmati ' m
i s the mark of th ' pol i t i i an more i nt r ted i n power D r it wn sak '
than a a tool for doi ng good. Remember Queen Vi ctoria' advi ce: ' Ne er
expl ai n, ne er apol ogi z ' . ' She ne r apol ogi zed for any Bri t i sh mi l i t ary
aggre i ns Stal i n n ' r apol ogi zed for hi s c ri me or for refu i ng to
l i sten to the vari oH ' authori tat i ve warni ng that Gel111any was about to
attack th So i et Uni on; and George W. Bu, h ne er apol ogi zed for the
t chni cal and moral bl und rs of his Admi ni strati on. Ob i ousl y "strong
I adershi p' i . t he nemy of i nt l l ectual and moral probi ty.
So much for sk pti ci sm and dogmat i sm. Let u. now gl i mp, e at the
mo. t pri mi t i e and barren of al l theorie, of knowl edge: i nt ui t i oni sm.
I nt ui ti oni . t . cl ai m to know anythi ng i mmedi atel y wi thout re, ort i ng t o
ei ther experience or rea ' on and wi t h certai nt y. For example, Edmund
Husserl , t he founder of phenomenology, hel d that t he way to gra ' p the
essence of t hi ngs i ' t hrough 'tran ' cendental -ph nomenol ogi cal reduc
ti on, ' whi ch con ' ist i n 'brack l i ng out' the ext rnal world-that i s i n
pretendi ng that i t does not exi ' l-and del vi ng i nto the depths of one'
own consci ousne Un ' urpri si ngl y, phenomenol ogy ha ' not produced a
i ngl e pi ce of knowledge of real i ty. I n pri nci pl e i t hould l ead to pol i t i
cal ni hi li 111. Yet Hu ' rl ' t hre mai n di ci pl e. -Max Schel er, Ni col ai
Hartmann. and Marti n H i degger-pai d cl o e attenti on to pol i t i c ' : I i k
Hegel one c nt ury before they glori fed country. tate, and war. Be
cau e i nt ui t i oni I11 cl ai m. that t ruth can be attai ned effortle . l y without
ei ther hard t hi nki ng or rigorou ' empi ri cal reo earch i t come nat ural l y
t o t he l azy.
Dogmat i c rat i onal i m cl ai m t o be abl e to know real i ty t hrough
specul ati on. wi thout re ort i ng to any empi ri cal procedure . Rati onal
choke theorie uch a neocl a i cal mi cro conomi c , are i nstances of
dogmati c rati onal i sm, for thei r pract i t ioner do not bother to check thei r
a umpti on . For exampl e. becau e they take el f hne for granted,
rati onal -choi ce theori l concl ude that col lecti ve good ar b und to
b pi l f red by "fr el oader. . For exampl e i f i l l ager have acce to
Philosophical Background 25
a communal pasture, the more enterpri si ng among them wi l l take to i t
more cow. and sheep than t he other , and consequentl y overgrazi ng the
common re ource wi ] ] soon exhau, t i t . Thi s i . known a. ' the t ragedy of
the common, ' (Hardi n 1 968 .
o such tragedy woul d occur i t is l ai med, i f every vi l J ager owned
hi own parcel , for he woul d take good care of i t i n, tead of beha i ng a.
a freel oader. The hL torical record teache. that there wa. , i ndeed . . uch a
t ragedy of th ' common , nam ' ly when Bri t i sh l andowners t k O r the
communal pa lure and put mor ' hccp to graze. But rational - h i e theo
ri t arc not i nt 'r 'sted in ad er ' e empi ri cal evi dence: Th 'y el certai n
that D l k p ' ychol ogy and e nomj ' rati onal i ty' (sel f hn ' 's uffce to
under tand t h ' soci al worl d. But it i n t. Al l deep sci enc ' i counteri n
t ui ti ve and most people are not t he way cconomi t prunt them.
Thu ' e peri mental economj st have shown that most peopl e are
reci procators rath r than . el f sh . e, .g . . Gi nt i s et al . 2005 ' Henri ch t
a1 . 2006; Rockenbach and Mi l i n. ki 2006 . And hi . tory show. that . om
common-pool reo ources such a. i rri gation canal . fi sh ri es communal
wood. and past ure. , have been col l ect i vel y managed for mi n nni a see .
. g. Esman and phoff 1 984' 0. t rom 1 990; Kad koi 2(04) . Fi nal J y in
pol i ti c. Hume s di ct um holds: R a. on i . t h . l ave of pa . . ion.
The oppo ' ite of dogmati c rat i onal i 'm is empi ri ci sm ( or po ' i t i vi ' m .
I ndeed empi ri ci t ' -l i k Bacon Locke, Hume Comte, Mi l l Mach and
the l ogical po -itj i ts hol d that onl y experience can del i ver know ledge,
though never beyond ph nomena, that i , appearance ' . Caution: Po ' iti v
i sm i . ofen confu ' ed wi th sci enti sm the the i ' t hat t h ci enti fc method
is the b t strategy for exploring real i t y. )
Empi ri i m c rtai nl y hol d for t ri vi al t ruth ' uch a that you, t he
r ad r. are now readi ng t hi page. But i t fai l ' mi rabl y for ev ryt hi ng
el e. part i cul arl y for i mp rcepti bl fact . ' uch a ' atomi c col l i i on ' and
pol i ti al ent ' . And it 0 happen that th va t majori ty of fact ' are
i mpercept ibl e' and that. a the Greek and I ndi an atomi t ' u p ct d
2, 500 y ar ' ago the ul t i mat compon nt to the prcepti bl e worl d are
unobservabl e. Whi ch. i nci dental l y. i a remi nder that epi temol ogy
wi thout ontol ogy i hal l ow.
To gra p oci al real i ty we mu t ri se above everyday experience, be
cau e we i nteract mo tl y wi th people i n our l i mi ted ci al ci rcl e , wi th
whom we hare i ntere t , b l i efs, and att i t ude . For exampl e, pol it i cal
act i vi t di cu pol i ti cal i ue mai nl y wit h fel low party member and
ympat hi zers 0 that t hey t end to xaggerate pol it ical pol arizati ons: they
ar vict i m of t he gap between xperi ence and r al i ty' ( Bal d, arri and
26 Political Philosoph
B arman 2007 . I n mo t 'ase th b t we 'an g t are obs r abl e i ndi ca
tor. of unob. er abl e fact. for exampl e, street demon. trati on i ndi cati ng
pol i t ical unrest . Si nce most of real i ty i . hi dden t o the . ense. t o get t o
know anythi ng worth knowi ng we mu t i magi ne conje ture. i n addi t i on
to maki ng ob. er ati on, . For exampl e hi torical anecdotes teach u t hat
tri umvi rate are unstabl e, but not why. Soci opol i ti cal anal ysi . reveal .
the mechani sm underlyi ng that general i 7ati on. Tn any t ri ad, any t wo of
i ts component an j in to ust the thi rd.
Empi ri i sm next of ki n i pragmati m or t he phi l o ' ophy f bl i nd
acti on. A cordi ng t it pra ti ce i s at once the ult i mate ' ource and th '
te t of al l r l iabl ' knowl edge' and what ' r i n t anch red to pra ri ce i '
ai n pecul at ion. Pragmati m thu rc mmend di pen ' ing wi t h the ry
and repla i ng th s i ent i f method wi th bl i nd t ri al and error. Thi phi
lo ophy com natural l y to men of a t i on, part i cul arl y bu i ne men and
pol i t ici ans and in fact it u. ual l y . uffce. for smal l . cal and , hort tenn
endea ors. But pragmat i . m i s woeful 1 y i nadequate for ambi ti ou, proj ects,
as these req uir pI ans i nformed by theorie. and data. Sti 1 1 Gothe' . prag
mati st the. i. "I n the begi nni ng was acti on, ' can occasional 1 y s rve as an
anti dote to John s i deal i st dogma "Tn t h begi nni ng wa. the Word. "
Moreover, pragmati . m i. i rrel ant to mathemati c, and natural sci
ence, nei ther of whi ch i nvol ve theori e ' r ferri ng t o human action ' ; i t
i ' mi sleadi ng i n soci al ' cience whi ch ' eek truth
.
and i t i s dangerou
in ' ocial technology whi ch endeavors to u such truths to solve ' oci al
problem . To ad ance by tri al and error on a large ' cal i ' to court di ' as
ter. St i l l , pragmati ' m perfoIl ' a u eful functi on when criti ci i ng 'grdnd
theories that i s, ' peculat i ve i deas and when i t demand that the po ' si ble
con ' qu nce. of act ion b tak n i nto account-regardle of the m an ' ,
though, whi h i why Mu " ol i ni 1 932 d el ared hi m el f a pragmat i . t.
Let u f nal l y ay . omet hi ng about two Ie er pi temol ogi e that
hav attai ned ' ome notoriety i n recent year : oci al con ' t rueti vi m and
femi ni t epi temol ogy. The . oci al con tructi vi t , cl ai m that al l enti ti .
and al l t ruth about th m are local oci al con t ructi on. -i nvent i on of
certai n communit i e . Consequent l y they di sal low t he exi tence of uni
ver al or cross-cul t ural truths, such as "Bi gots hi nder rati onal pol i ti cal
debate. " Hence at be t t hey may qual i fy a journal i ts or tory tel l er but
not a cient i st -for. a Ari tot l e taught. ci ence eek general i t i e .
And at worst oci al con truct i vi m i nvi tes subjecti v i m and rel ati vi H,
enemi e of cient jc re earch.
That ai d i t i obvi us t hat there are s ci a! constru t i ns gal re. l n fa t
everythi ng i n O i ety i man-made and i t i . ei ther fun t ional "meani ng-
Philosophical Background 27
ful " or dye funct ional to some extent. For exampl e school s arc i nvented
and organi zed, not di scovered, and they are expected to perfOnll two
i mportant functi ons: i n. t ructi on and so i al i zati on. But, once con, t ru ted,
a . oci al art i fact i. j u. t a rea] a. a rock. Consequent l y it de. erve. bei ng
tudied wi th the hel p of the . i ent i fi c method.
Fi nal l y, the femi ni st epL temologi st. hold that what i u. ual l y cal l ed
knowl edge-wi th the attendant rati onal i ty and object i vi ty-i s j u. t a tool
of mal e donli nati on to be e entual l y repl aced wi t h femi ni n ' know! 'dge,
whi ch al l egedl y emphasi zes i ntui t i n and care. Don' t ask for evi dence:
i t woul d i ndi ate m ' mbrshi p i n the 'phaUocra y. '
ontrary to the radical er ' i n of al l of the abovementi on d doctrincs,
sci ent i f real i st argue that object i t ruth can be t b g tten through
re ' car h b t h empirical and th ret icaL Sci entic real i t hold that a the
exteral world exi sts i nd pendently of the know 'I. and b i t can be known,
though approxi matel y and gradual l y. through re. earch conducted i n ac
cordance to th scienti fc method ( . ee Mahner 201 . Thi s method i nvolve.
int r. ubjecti v tests. Howev r, contrary to popul ar opi ni on, int r. ubjecti v
ity con. en. us i . an object i vi ty i ndicator not a defn r of i t ( Bung 20 b .
So much . 0 that propaganda can el i ci t consen. us abollt l ies.
Howe er. here i. a word of warni ng. Phi l osophi cal real i . m has onl y
a t enuous r l at i on wi t h pol i t i cal rea I i m and neo-real i sm, accordi ng to
whi ch i nterati onal rel ati ons are ba ' ical l y antagoni , t i c and revol e ex
c lusi vel y around pol i t i cal power, i n part i cul ar mi li tary mi ght . Pol i ti cal
real i ' ts and neoreal i , t ' are epi temol ogical rea I i t and moral uti l i tari ans.
I n parti cul ar t h ' el f- styl ed pol i ti cal real i t s advocate the ab ' ol ute pri
macy of nat i onal i nter ts, regardl e of moral ' and i nterati onal l aw.
For exarnpl e. t h y may recommend bombi ng ci i l ian popul ati on - and
cul t i vat i ng friendl y di ctator .
Leavi ng nUaIlC , a i de the mai n contemporary epi temol ogical doc
trine may be la ed thu
Lpt l mulutc
==
`
wh r i i s | hc a pcc| or trai t b i ng con. i d rcd ( i . c. , a
part i cu| ar pi c char| ) , and j namcs a scc|or o| |ha| par| i cu| ar pi c.
Wc can kccp trac k o| |hc di i sion o| soci ty i n|o vari ous soci a| group.
by rccordi ng thcm i n mat ri x |orm. Con. i d r hr t | h par| i cu| ar typc. o|
di vi si on . uch a. by cconomi c c|a . . , po| i ti ca| a|| | i a| i on. c|hni ci |y and . 0
on. Suppo c |hcrc arc In o| | hcsc | ypc o| di vi sion undcr consi dcra| i on,
whi ch wc | ab| J
wi |h i runni ng |rom | | o m. Nc t, wc no|c | hc vari ou
subca|cgori wi | hi n cach o| thc di vi i ons. |or cxamp| c. th cconomi c
c| a c can bc ph| i n| o |ow, midd| and uppcr. | hc po| i |i ca| oncs i nto
Con cr ati vc, Li bcra| . Soci a| i | , and I ndi ||crcnt . thc c|hnici t i
.
i n|o ab-
origi na| and i n+ mi gran|, and ' 0 on. Suppo c | ha| |or cach |ypc o| di vi si on
J
hcrc arc Il; uch ubca|cgoric , and | c| IZ b |hc maxi mum o| | hc Ill "
Thcn wc can ummarzc our ana| y o| |hc m mb r hi p o| a oci c|y by
|hc m x n ma|r x D = I S . . ! . In our cxamp| . thi ma| ri x
IJ
Lowcr
Con crvativc
Abori gi na|
Mi dd| c
Libcra|
I mmi grant
Uppcr
Soci a| i |
o
o
I ndi hcr n|
o
whcrc 0 |and |or |hc cmp|y cc| | . otc |ha| |hc cntri c i n | hi ma|ri x
arc group o| p op| c not numbcr . |or |hc mathcma|cs o| ct ma| ri cc
cc Bungc | 74a. )
| n um t hc ana|y i o| | hc mcmbcr hi p o| a oci c|y i nto m rcspcc|
b it down |o |ormi ng |hc m x n ma|r i x D = 1 5;j- ' Thi may b ca| | d
|hc qualitative Jn er if matrix | |hc ci c|y. And |hc numb r J = m. 1l
may bc rcgardcd as | h degree ofsociodi ersi! . Snc |hc choi cc o| |hc
Citizen and Polity 7 1
numbcr I o| rcspc ts dcpcnd. | argc| y upon thc i ntcrc | s and abi | i ty o|
|hc ana| y t omc c| cmcn|s o| D arc bound t o bc cmp|y.
o |ar, |hi s has bccn a purc| y qua| i ta|i vc cxcrci c. Howcvcr, gi vcn
ui |ab| c |a| i t i ca| da|a, |on i ng |hc quant i |a| i vc countcrpart o| D i s
a rou| i nc ta k. I ndccd, a| | wc ha c |o do i s |o coun| |hc numbcr i . o|
pcop| c i n ca h cc| | S,)' and di vi dc i | by |hc tota| numbcr P o| pcop| c i n
|hc soci c|y S. Wc | hu gc| |hc quantitativ div rsity matrix = ( | / P) N . . ] .
u
Thi matri x i an In X n array o| |rac|i on .
Lc| u h na| | y g| i mp a| |hc onccp| o| a soci a| c |ass h r t brought to
|hc |orc by Marx .md Lng | i n | hci r m morab| c ommunist Manie to
o| | 848. .md di s| i ngui hcd |rom |hat o| |a| us by Wcbcr | 22 . |or
cxamp| c, |hc |a|us o| whi |c-co| | ar work r i hi ghcr |han |hat o| b| uc
co| |ars a| though bot h groups arc pcci c o| thc worki ng- | a gcnus. S| i | | ,
mo t Amcri can oci a| cicnt i | hav ci |hcr i cnorcd th conccp| o| c| a
or con|u. cd i | wi |h |ha| o| . |a|u
( Buncc | a. han and Go| d|horp
2007 . Yc| i | i s qui | obvi ous |ha| occupa|i on. arc groupcd i n|o oci a|
c| a cs. wh ncc |hc |orm r arc rc| i ab|c i ndi ca|ors o| |hc | at| r. |or i n-
|ancc i n mo. | soci |i cs |h ru| i ng c| ass i s composcd o| | h cxccut i vc. o|
bi g corpora|i ons, | andown r
and ranch r s or th i r mod r n coun|crpart .
agribu i nc , CLO ) bankcr , and rcn| i cr . Surc| y |hc c pcop| c arc no|
in |hc amc soci a| c| a as |hci r cmp| oycc . th ir i ncomc, | |c t y| c, and
po| |i ca| c|ou| arc |ar upcrior |ho o| | hci r ubordi na|c and ' 0 arc
| hci r a sc| and | i |c xpcctanci cs. Thcrc|orc, as ari zny 200J . 2 | 7 pu|
i |, wc hou| d wr
,
o|hcrwi c, J = 0
b Maximall mobile societ M . . = 0, l = l IN) L. M . . .
I I:J U
So |ar wc havc no| di di ngui hcd |on::a| | y bc|wccn uppcr and | ow r
soci a| tra|a nor. cons qu n|| y. bc|w cn upward .md downward mo-
bi | i |y. Thi di t i nc|i on can bc i n| roduccd i n |hc ' 0 ia| mobi | i |y ma|ri x
M. a| | i ng M' |hc upward and M . . |hc downward mov : . it sccn:
l
l
rcasonab| c |o . ct
J = ( l IN) L, . M
I J IJ
J- = l IN) L . . M .
I J IJ
W ca| | net so 'iol mobilit
| hc cxcc o| upward mobi | ity ovcr downward mobi | i |y. Thi i ndi ca|or
o| ocia| changc wi | | bc u cd in thc ncx| cc| i on.
|i na| |y. how i mobi | i |y rc|a|cd | o i ncqua| i | y'. I conccturc t ha| , as
|ra| i hca|i on mcrg . vcrt i ca| mobi | i| y b comc po i b| un| c xp| i c-
i | | y prohi bi tcd, a i n | h Hi ndu ca |c y t m. r |urth r hypo|hc i z tha|
i n |act mobi | i |y r cs 4ccp| y un|i | |hc di |ancc bc|wccn rung mak i |
prac|i ca| | y i mpo b| c |or an i ndi vi dua| |o c| i mb up |hc | addcr. |rom |hcn
on i | i a|| thc way down. I n hor|, I ubmi | |ha| |hc mobi | i |y- i ncqua| i ty
cur ha |hc hap o| an i nvcr|cd U. Soci occonomi c |a|i | i c |or | h
| a | |hrcc dccadcs i n | hc Uni |cd S|atc con|i rm |hc downward cc| i on o|
| hc curvc A| brccht and A| brcch| 2007 ; |c | i ng o| | hc upward par| o| |hc
hypo|hcsi zcd curvc rcqui rc ob crvi ng a oi c|y i n qui ck | ran i |i on |rom
cqua| i |y |o s|ra| i |i ca| ion. Whc|hcr vcr|i ca| po| i|i ca| mobi | i ty i si mi | ar
i s yct |o bc i nvc | iga|cd.
6. Cohesion
A| | so i c| i arc m rc or |c hc| r g ncou . but omc arc morc 0-
hc i vc | css di vi dcd |han othcr . Lct u i nt r ducc a i mp| c mca urc o|
76 Political Philosoph
|hc dcgrcc o| cohc on o| a oci a| nc|work. A nctwork o| any ki nd may
bc rcprc. cn|cd by a graph, a ma|hcma| ica| objcc| |ha| consi . | s o| a sc|
o| nodc oi ncd by cdgc . I n |hc casc o| soci a| nctwork or y. tcm. , |hc
nodc. rcprcscn| pcr oiv or organi zati on , and |hc cdcc |hc bond |ha|
kccp |hcm |ogc|hcr.
f'ig. 2.4. network formed by four units joined by at most ix bonds.
inee tbere are everal kinds of odal relation, from friendship to cooperation,
a society must be represented by a family of graphs-as many as kinds.
Ca| | i ng N |hc numbcr o| nod
.
and t: th numb r o| cdgc wc dc|i nc
|hc cohesion o| | h nc|work as
1 = 2E 1 N( - | .
Thi i a numbcr tha| | ic bc|wccn 0 and | . | n |hc graph o| |i gurc 4,
N = 4 and |h maxi ma| numbcr o| po i b| c cdgc i E = 1 /2 N ( N - 1
= 6. Hcrc ar |our ou| o| | hc cvcn po. i b| cohc i on va| u .
E = O . = 0; E = 2. K = 1 13' E = 4. K = 2/3' E = 6, K = 1 .
Wc ncx| i ntroducc a mca ur o| |hc ial power o| an i ndi i dua| or
organi zati on. u h a |h abi | i | y o| a pcrson |o rccrui | n w m mb r |or
an organi za|i on, and thc abi | i |y o| an organi za|ion |o changc |hc |ruc-
| urc o| ano|hcr oci a| y 'cm. Wc dc|i nc uch powcr P as thc abi | i ty to
crcatc or dc troy oci a| bond in an organi za|i on, morc p ci hca| | y. a
|hc rati o o| | hc um o| | hc numbcr C o| ncw| y crca|cd oci a| bonds and
|hc numbcr D o| dc troycd ocia| bond by |hc |o|a| numbcr o| possi b| c
bond i n |hc nc|work.
p = C + D) 1 # | possi b| c bonds whcrc
C + D E and # possi b| bonds = ( 1 /2 N N - 1 ) .
Obvi ou | y | hcrc arc a many ki nd o| s ci a| powcr as |acc|s | c i a|
| i |c. po| it i ca| c nomi c and cu| |ura| . Thus po| i |i a| powcr i |hc abi |i ty
78 Political Philosoph
Noti ce that where'L the fr t col umn l L t properti c of per on the
trai t s i n the second and t hi rd col umns are gl obal or , y. temi . Here, a.
eL ewhere, col 1 ecti ve or bul k ) properti e, emerge from i ndi vi dual acti on.
and att i t ude, -whi ch i n t urn are i nfl uenced by the former see, e. g. ,
Col eman 1 990; Bunge 2003a .
However, part i ci pation fa ors cohe. i on onl y up to a poi nt , after whi ch
i t erode, cohe, i on. The rea, on i s that, when too many peopl e compete
for th . , are resource , [md when ev ' ryone m ' ddl es i n th . affai rs of oth
er , membershi p i n the group cea e to be adv(Ul tageou . Thus i t may
be uppo, ed that the i ntegrati on vs. palti ci pati on curve i an i nv ' rted U.
More pre isely, I t 'nlati vel y , uggest that the form of the dependence of
i ntegrati on l upon parti i pati on n i '
1 = 4n I - n) .
Thi . functi on takes t he val ue 0 for ei t h r ni l or total part i ci pati on. and
attai n, i t maxi mum nam l y I , for mi ddl i ng part i ci pat i on (n = 1 /2) .
A, for social mobi l i ty, I , uggest that, whereas upward mobi l i ty contrib
utes to cohe, ion, downward mobi l i t y weaken, it. Roughl y most p ople
feel contented, or at l east not i ncl i ned to revol t agai n, t the , tatu, quo,
if every year t hey ' ee more new ri ch than new poor-or ar just led to
bel ieve that t hi ' i ' ' 0. More preci ' el y, a po - i l i e net mobi l i t y J 0)
enhanc ' cohesi on, whereas a negat i ve net mobi l i ty J 0) weaken '
i t . And of cour 'e J = 0 makes no di fference i l her way.
Fi nal l y, I propo 'e that ' oci al eohe ' ion re ' ul t ' from both i ntegrati on
and mobi l i t y wi t h equal wei ght ' :
K = t /2 t + J
Thu hi gh net mobi l i ty may ompen. at for low i nt grati on du to
parti i pati on, and can er. 1 y. But a negati ve net mobi l i t y can of et th
b n fi t of parti ci pati on to t h poi nt that K = O. Thi wi l l r ul t i n oei al
col lap e unl e tools of effi ci ent oci al control are employed cunni ngl y
and rut hl e l y.
Ha i ng prai ed oci al cohe i on, l et me warn agai n t the hol i t i c
tendency to regard i t a t he summum bonum. I ndeed, maxi mal oci al
cohe i on, a advocated by total i tari ans and communi tarian both secul ar
and rel i gi ou . i t i fi ng becau e every i ndi vi dual i n a t i ghtl y kni t com
muni t y i bi ng watched l ect ured (uld puni hed by al l hi s nei ghbors.
Thi s i s n f the rea. ons that young peopl e who yearn r i ndependence
Citizen and Polity 79
tend to l eave e mai l town and tri ct rc1 i gi ou communi t ies. A Sp,UlLh
pro erb put s i t succi nctl y: "Smal l town, bi C hel l .' Let us therefore ai m
for mi ddl i ng rather than maxi mal so i al cohesi on. The . are hol d. for
everyt hi ng el se. othi ng i n excess. Ne er maxi mi ze anythi ng, because
al l the propert i e. of a t hi ng are i nterrel ated so that maxi mi zi ng one of
them i. l i kel y to mi ni mi ze others.
oci al cohee i on can be regul ated t hrough l egi . l at i on. I ndeed a . tate
can ei th ' r enfor e cul t ural assi mi lat i on t he mel t i ng pot paradi gm or en
courage mul t icul t ural i . TIl t he mosai . paragon . l ubmi t t hat both forced
a imi l ati on and unrestri ct d mul t i cul t ural i m af ' Und 'TI10 ratk. The
former because it i 'oer i ve, and the l atter b 'cau e it tol erates whatev 'r
undemocrati c tradi ti on. an , t hni c group may wi h to i mport- uch a.
wi dow buri ng, honor ki l l i ng, cl i tori dectomy, arranged matTi age, forced
rel i gi ou ' i ndoctri nati on and vi ol ent ectari an practi ces. I n addi t ion to
t hreateni ng human ri ght. and democracy unr . tri cted mul ti cul t ural i . m
i n ol ve. t he di vi sion of soci ety i nto ghettoe . . I . ugge. t rej ecti ng both
forced a . . i mi l at i on and unr . tri cted mul t i cul t ural i . m and pract i ci ng
s clecli e muLti 'uLlttralisrn i nstead. ThL can. i sts i n mut ual accommoda
ti on and i n tal rati ng whatever practi ce. do not i ol ate human ri ghts.
Mar i n hapt r 3, Secti on 4.
At al l events, a soci al order i . worth pr ' ervi ng onl y i f i l i . bot h fai r
and ' U ' tai nabl e. Otherwi se i l S member ' a r better 0[[ ei ther t ri vi ng [or
t ructural reform ' or mi grat i ng. However, the matter o[ ' U tainabi l i ty
cal l s for a speci al ecl ion.
7. Sustai nability: Tbe ficiency Factor
a matter how coh iv a 0 i ety may be it won' t be vi abl e, I
al on u tai nabl i n the l ong term, if i t l ack ' the requi i t natural and
human re our . Thi nk of a nomadi tri b of h rd m n duri ng a e r
drought or of a nral soci ety d pend nt on a ' i ngl e cult ivar vul n rabl
to a pl ague. Tru pi l l agi ng cara an . pl und ri ng of coloni e , and for i gn
a i ' tance may b ource ' of i ncome for a whi l . But l arg -scal i ol nc
and i mperi al i m are notori ousl y hazardou , a wel l a characterized by
di mi ni hi ng return , 0 that t hey do not en ure teady re enue.
As for humani tarian rel i ef, i t i more often promi ed than del i vered;
when del i vered i t often come wi th pol i ti cal stri ng attached; and when
cont i nued for purel y pol i t ical rea on i t rui n local farmer and craft men.
Be i de . genui ne and la ti ng devel opment i many- i ded and el f-gen
erated. I t re ul t from 1 0 a1 ef rt ompetent management and h n t
l eadershi p, rather than by occasi onal handouts. Thi s i why the early
S Political Philosoph
enthusi a. m for top-down devel opment hown by i nt mat i onal agcnei c
has col ed down over the past two decade. ( ee Kennedy 2(6) .
I submi t that the onl y safe hedge agai nst soci al decl i ne i . high overal l
effci ency. Thi s L defi ned as = Outputllnput, where the output come.
from di ver. i fi ed producti ve work rather than from thi e ery, bandi t ry, co
l oni al . poi l . forei gn subsi dy. or mo i ng money. Usi ng effci ency rather
than, . ay, GOP. ha. the fol l owi ng advantage . . Fi r. t effci en y i n l ude.
non-monetary good , such a. oei al ervice . S 'cond, i t i ncl udes taci t l y
th ' re. oure 'ful ness of t h ' peopl e and ' l ude t he i ncome deri vi ng fom
act i i ti es other than honest toi l ' fnal l y it dL suad 's u fom u i ng a11i fci al
weal t h uni ts such a t h ' Ameri can dol l ar.
Actual l y, the i nput shoul d i ndud ' wi th a negati ve si gn the valu '
of 'nvi ronm ' ntal depr dati on both at home ,UJd abroad-,UJ in l u i on
that decreases of cour e t h ' rati o i n que t i on. Thi i becau. ' though
un. u. pected by mO.t economi . t . t he non-r newable re. ources are fni te
and moreover dwi ndl i ng fa. t . I n . hort . the Output in the d fi ni t i on of
effci ency i . t he total rev nue from honest work or rather t he effci ency
of t hi . acti vi ty; and t h I nput i ncl udes al l t he re. ource. uti l i z d, both
natural and cul t ural , I ss the green co. t. Regrettabl y t h I an r can onl y
b gu . . d, b cau. e nobody know. how to m a. ure i t , and anyway no
government keeps track of i t .
Fi nal l y, I ' uggest t hat t he degree ofsusfainabilif a of a ' oci ety equal '
the product of it ' co he ' ion by it . effi ci ency:
a = 1 .
onsi der th fol l owi ng l i mi t case . :
CriminaL 0 iet : = 0 h nc c = 0 regardl of t h al ue of K.
CO Ie ociet : K = 0 h nc c = 0 regardl of t h val ue of .
Cooperative society of ki l l d peopl e: l arg K and h nce l arg c.
The above formul a " a = K . E, " ummari ze the chal l enge to pre ent
day societi e : To i nvent way to i ncrea e bth t hei r soci al cohe i on wi thi n
rea on and thei r effi ciency, i n order to enhance t hei r survi val chance.
Let me cl o e thi s ecti on by posi ng t hree open probl em for further
research. The fr t i t hi . We have treated cohe i on and effi ci ency
a mutual l y i ndependent vari abl e , but act ual l y they are not. In fact,
c h i on i ncreas i n me becaus i t faci l i tat ol l ecti ve endeav r
and decrea expendi t ures on se uri ty. Al 0 a hi gh nati onal i n ore
Citizen and Polity 81
faci li t ates wide pread acce t o natural and cul tural re ource . A more
. ophL ti cated model . houl d be free from these l i mi tati on . .
Another probl em concern. the po . . i bl e dependence of vi abi l i ty upon
. oci odi er. i ty. Ecol ogi . t, ued t o t hi nk t hat bi odi ver, i ty i ncrea. e. i
abi l i ty. Thi s hypothe. i s i s no l onger hel d: nat ure can onl y provi de . 0
many habi tat. . J u. t a. there . eems to be an opt i mal bi odi ver. i ty val ue,
i t i . l i kel y that there i s an opt i mal . oci odi er. i ty al ue whi ch i. nei ther
maxi mal nor mi ni mal . The reason i l i kely to b ' that as oci odi ver i t y
i ncrease , 0 does the number of speci al i nterests some of whi ch are
bound t o be mutual l y confi - t i ng.
The t hi rd and l ast probl em i the toughest : Al l of t h ' above hypth
e '. are empi ri al l y te tabl e but they have yet to pa ' , empi ri cal t 'sts.
My ' u ' e for i ncl udi ng them i s that h ' r ' we are doi ng phi l o- ophy, not
sci ence. And i t i part of the job descri pt i on that pol it i al phi lo ' oph 'rs
. houl d l ook b yond the hori zon.
8. I ntersts: Your line and Ours
ormal peopl are both sel f-regardi ng and other-regardi ng. They l ook
after t h ir own i ntere. t . but th y a1 . o tak oth r peopl ' s i nterests i nto
account . That is t hey often do favors to others parti ci pate in coopera
t i ve vent ures and sel dom i f ever engage in ant i ' oci al behavi or. Onl y
p ' ychopat hs ar ut terl y ' el f ' h. Yet the upholders of radi cal rat i onal "
choi c t heories hol d that everyone at tempt ' to maxi mi : hi ' own xpected
ut i l i t i e " wi th total di sregard for other peopl e' , i nterest .
I n part icular, the economi c theory of pol i ti cs or rather vot i ng bhav
i or hol d ' t hat the rat i onal ci t i zen has no i ntere , t i n vot i ng becau ' e he
know that a i ngl e vote i s unl ikel y to make a di f rence ( Down 1 957'
01 on J 965 . Moreover thi theory holds that ci tizen ordinari l y vote for
th i r ( p rcei ed) i nter . : They alway ote with th i r wallets. Undoubtedly
uch a choice i tark]y i mmoral accordi ng to the ociological defini ti on ' I m
moral = Anti oci al . But wh ther peopl do a t i n that way i an mpi ri cal
quest i on, not a moral one. Let U ' gl i mp e at the empi ri cal e i dence.
Over the pa t few decade , a number of p ychol ogi t ha e conducted
experi ment to check whether i n fact al l p opi e are maxi mi zer . We hal l
not revi ew i n detai l the cl assi cal experi mental tudj es of Kahneman and
hi coworker ( Kahneman, Sl ovi c, and Tver ky 1 982 , becau e they are
rat her wel l known. One of t hem i that we tend to grow fond of t hi ngs
uch as t i e , l ong after we have ceased u i ng them-whence the habi t
f a cumul at ing junk i n t he att ic . Let u report i n tead n a D w re ent
t udi e t hat c nfrm and enl arg the previ ou f ndi ng .
H2 Political Philosoph
1 . Human i11fants are mpathi ' and altrui ti . Al l parent know t hat y ung
pre-, chool chi l dren and even 1 - month ol d i nfants, feel concerned
for peer in di tres . Warneken and Toma el l o 2006 ha e recent l y
' onfirmed t hi s findi ng, shmvi ng t hat i nfant: wi l l aI . 0 do somet hi ng
to hel p adul t s faced wi th a pract ical probl em that they are unable t o
' 01 e.
Ht punish f;'ee riders. Fehr and Ga hter _00 f und t hat ordi nari i
pe pie puni sh "fee rider
,.
e en knowi ng that t hey run a ri . k. That i .
people are wi l l i ng to put up wi th re enge \"hen i t corne t uphol di ng
omm n decen y i n t hei r communi ty. C uld thi . b becau ' e we cheri h
. ci al value ? We d not kn w yet .
3. Men ordinarii ' Plllli h unfair ( pponelll but mpathi , e l'\ ith fair on s
( Si nger et al . 2006). That i :, moral on iderati on may outwei dh "rati -
nal " cal cul ati on ven when j udgi ng people we di sl i ke. I t hi becau. e
our en e of Cai rnes has not been utterly corrupted by the struggl e for
l i fe . We do n t know.
4. We judge the ompetence of 'cmdid aes on tlwir fa ial app 'aran. 'e
i nstantl y and wi thout b theri ng to exami ne thei r record Tod ro et
al . 2005). l. t hi : be au. e we are hi l dren of the screen and l ave, t
advert i . i ng . We d n t know.
5. We ra ly make mplex decisions Oil the basi of areful deliberation
( Dj k terhui et at . 2006 . F r exampl , di ffcul t choi s, a b t we n
hOll e , are mor often unc n ci u than hoi e between si mpl i tem
su h a,' ' ocks, whi 'h d not i n ol ve areful cal ul ali on. More er,
nap deci i on may lead to good ch i ce . I t hi . because del i berat i n
tend, to focus on ,el ected trai t of the t hi ng i n que:ti on whi l e mi ssi ng
the \ hol e? Or because most of us are too l azy to lear \ hat it t akes
to make wel l -grounded deci i ons? Or el se be ause emoti on override,
reason on matters that are l i kel y t i nfuen e our l i fe, l yl e'. We do not
kn w yet.
6. Mo r (Ameri 'an) \ oters aI" ab small) i /lornt (r politi s, and the
candidates 'OUll 01 this Hardi n 2002 . For exampl e, Cal i f ri an
otef vot d for the so-cal l ed t hr e- t ri ke l aw, that mandate pri on
sentences for repeat offender regardl ess of the magni t ude of thei r of
fenses whi ch can be as petty as steali ng a s l i e of pizza.
The fi r t t hree fi ndi ng undermi ne the pe i mj tic hypothe i that we
are an ba i cal l y bad (anti oci al , i mmoral . Actual 1 y, a Robert Loui
Steven on argued per ua i el y, we are nei ther ful ly bad nor ful ly good,
but hal f and hal f. By ontra t, the Ia t t hree fi ndi ng ugge t that we are
not a rati onal ( not even economi cal l y a po t ul ated by rati onal -choi ce
thcori cs. Whi l tru t hi doce not confnT i rrati onal i . m that i , th view
that irrational i ty i s goo for lL. Rel yi ng on fcar or greed frst i mprcs i on
or good TV i mage, famboyant rhetoric or deep-scated prejudi c can b
dL astrous: i t can l ead to tyranny and war. W mu t try and ovcrcome irra-
Citizen and Polity 83
t ional i ty i nstead of al l owi ng i t to rul e u . So, the defenders of reason nlay
ha e been descri pti vel y wrong even whi le bei ng normati vel y ri ght.
Rat i onal i ty shoul d be the moral and pol i ti cal nonn preci . el y because
it is not the statL t i al norm. Let two exampl e, suffi ce to gau ge t he di
. a, trou. re, ul t . of i rrati onal pol i t i c . . When peopl e feel under t hreat
they t end to fol l ow any l eader. who magni fy t he t hreat and promL e
to save t hem from t he ' enemy,' whet her real or i magi nary. ThL wa
Mar ' hal l Gori ng' an w ' r t o t he quest i on : How di d you and your
fri ends ' ucc ' ed i n ral l yi ng t hc German peopJ c around Hi t l er? Sc ' ond
cxample : Wh ' n t hc Amcri can arnled forces l aunched t hei r at tack on
I raq i n 2003 t h 'y had no pl an for governi ng I raq, prcvent i ng t he
fore ' ceabl ' i n urgency and ' cct ari an i ol cnce or recon t ruct i ng
what they woul d be dc. t royi ng. Thc aggr ' s i on wa ' l argel y fuel 'd
by gr 'ed for oil ,md pl anned by i dcol ogue ' trai ncd or i nspi r ' d by the
pol i ti cal phi l o. opher Leo St rau, , . However the pol i t i cal rol of i ntel
l ectual s deserve, a new . ect i on.
9. Intellectuals and Politics
Al l i deologi es ha e b n in ented, defended, or cri t ici zed by i ntel
l ectual s, and al l go rnment. have been , upported or undermi ned by
i ntel lectual '-acqui e ' ci ng si l entl y more often than vocal l y, but ' ometi me '
i n ' piri ng mal efc pol i cies. I n The Guilded Age, a ' at i re of corrupt i on
of Washi ngton, D. C. , i n the 1 70s Mark Twai n and CharJe ' Warner
quoted the fol lowi ng fom the great German poet Chri stoph Wi el and:
' Thrasyl lu " wi t h hi ' unai ded i ntel l ect, woul d not have ' ucceeded, but
' uch wort hi e ' can al way ' fnd rogue ' who for money wi J l l end brai ns,
whi ch i j ust a w 1 1 a. to hav brai n ' of t h i r own. '
Th i ntel l ectual ' ta k is-a- \ i pol i t i . whether con t nl cti ve or cri t i
caL rai ' moral conf ict. : Shal l I enter th pol i ti cal fray at al l . I f 0
how? a ' afrallc-lireur or a ' a party m mb r . I f I do joi n a party wi l l J
urr nder my i nd pend nc to party di ci pl i n ? I f I r mai n i ndi fi r nt
wi l l J b tray my l I ow cit izens? And i f I parti i pat a a di ci pl i ned party
member, wi l l I event ual l y betray my ci ence, for what dri ves pol i ti cs are
i ntere t rather than ei ther knowl edge or moral s .
As a matter of fact i nt el 1 ectual part i ci pate i n pol i ti cs i n ei ther of
t hree capaci t i es: a techno] ogi t , i deo] ogue , or cri ti c . The expert may
be non-partisan, a i n t he ca e of the publ ic work engi neer and the
publ i c heal th or publ i c educati on offci al ; or he made work i n a pol i ti -
al l y en i ti ve depart m nt, such as i nteri or external affai rs defense or
i nf fflati n. I f the xprt work i n a purel y t chni cal apaci ty hi onl y
S Political Philosoph
moral conCCll is to do the b t hc can i n the publ i c c ervi ce. But i f the
expert is charged wit h execut i ng a parti e an pol i ti cal agenda1 , u h a.
ai l e i ati ng poverty or utt i ng taxe. on the ri h, he cannot evade moral
di l emma . . The . ame appl i e. , ajorfiori, to the i deol ogue and the desi gner
of pol i ci es and pl an, . Fi nal l y, the moral respon, i bi l i t y of the cri ti al
i ntel l ectual i e doubl e: to hi s profe . . i on and to hi e fel l ow ci ti zen . . Regret
tably, onl y a few i ntel lectual . , econded Wi I l i am James 1 987 when he
denounced the Phi l i ppi ne occupati on i n hi . 1 903 peech to th ' ew
Engl and Ant i - I mp ' ri al i t League' onl y a handful agre d wi th Ei nstei n
and Ru ' ' el l wh ' n they oppo ' d Worl d War I ' but qui te a f ' w when, hal f
a cent ury l ater they joi ned Bohr and t h ' Pugwa h group to warn agai nst
nucl ear Armageddon.
The fr. t moral di l ' mma of the i ntel l ' ctual i n pol i ti cs i thi ' : Shal l h '
e press hi m el f cl early, or shal l he ' p 'ak oracul arly, ' i ther becau ' he ha '
nothi ng to say or b cau. e h do . not want ordi nary fol k t o understand
hi m. I f honest , he wi l l choos c1 arity. If not, he wi J l xpres. hi msel f i n the
opaque styl of Hei degg r, th Mexi can pre. i d nt Lui . Ech verrfa, and
the central bank r Al an Gre nspan. To be hon . t , th pol i ti cal me . . age
has got to be cl ear, . 0 that th ci t i zen may form a w l 1 - i nformed opi ni on
and act i ntel l i gentl y i n.lead of bl i ndl y fol l owi ng . logans or exhortati on . .
The clari ty condi t i on i ' ' 0 cri ti cal that the Canadi an parl i am nt pa . ' ed
the Cl ari ty ct to force the Quebec ' eparat i st to frame clearly the ref
erendum que ' ti on, whether t h voter ' favor i ndependence-whi ch the
Parti Quebecois had attempted t o di ' gui ' e as soverei gnty-a ' soci at i on"
and ' ren wed federal i sm:
related moral di lemma faced by t he i nt el l ectual who enter ' pol i t ic '
in any capaci t y i . wh th r or not to ' wear what may be call ed th Al t hi c
Oat h, namel y 4 I wi l l ' e k th t rut h and t el l i t ." A handful of publ i i ntel
I ctual -i n part i cul ar Vol tai re Marx, Dicken Zola. Bi n ' tei n, Ru " el l ,
K ynes Gal brai t h. and Chom ky-a w I I a uncounted sci ent i t , hav
honored th oat h. By contra t Pl ato, Ni tzsch Hei degger Leo Strau "
Henry Ki ssi nger and other champi on ' of t he ' nobl e l i e doctri ne hav
not e en taken t he oath. A for Ari stotl e and Machi avel l i , the honest
sci ent i t in them honored t he oath, wherea t he cunni ng pol i ti cal advi s
er betrayed i t . Fortunatel y, the betrayal of i ntel 1 ectual s of al l cal i ber to
the cause of truth has occasi onal l y been expo ed ( Benda 2006 [ 1 927] ;
Kol nai 1 938; Li l l a 200 1 ; Popper 1 962 [ 1 945] - Wol i n 1 993; Vacher 2004;
Bri cmont 2005 ).
The C l d War 1 945- 1 990 teo ted the objecti vi ty of publ i c i ntel l e tual s.
For i n t an e a number of famou profe s r , such a Pr derick Hay k
S Political Philosoph
enthusi a. m for top-down devel opment hown by i nt mat i onal agcnei c
has col ed down over the past two decade. ( ee Kennedy 2(6) .
I submi t that the onl y safe hedge agai nst soci al decl i ne i . high overal l
effci ency. Thi s L defi ned as = Outputllnput, where the output come.
from di ver. i fi ed producti ve work rather than from thi e ery, bandi t ry, co
l oni al . poi l . forei gn subsi dy. or mo i ng money. Usi ng effci ency rather
than, . ay, GOP. ha. the fol l owi ng advantage . . Fi r. t effci en y i n l ude.
non-monetary good , such a. oei al ervice . S 'cond, i t i ncl udes taci t l y
th ' re. oure 'ful ness of t h ' peopl e and ' l ude t he i ncome deri vi ng fom
act i i ti es other than honest toi l ' fnal l y it dL suad 's u fom u i ng a11i fci al
weal t h uni ts such a t h ' Ameri can dol l ar.
Actual l y, the i nput shoul d i ndud ' wi th a negati ve si gn the valu '
of 'nvi ronm ' ntal depr dati on both at home ,UJd abroad-,UJ in l u i on
that decreases of cour e t h ' rati o i n que t i on. Thi i becau. ' though
un. u. pected by mO.t economi . t . t he non-r newable re. ources are fni te
and moreover dwi ndl i ng fa. t . I n . hort . the Output in the d fi ni t i on of
effci ency i . t he total rev nue from honest work or rather t he effci ency
of t hi . acti vi ty; and t h I nput i ncl udes al l t he re. ource. uti l i z d, both
natural and cul t ural , I ss the green co. t. Regrettabl y t h I an r can onl y
b gu . . d, b cau. e nobody know. how to m a. ure i t , and anyway no
government keeps track of i t .
Fi nal l y, I ' uggest t hat t he degree ofsusfainabilif a of a ' oci ety equal '
the product of it ' co he ' ion by it . effi ci ency:
a = 1 .
onsi der th fol l owi ng l i mi t case . :
CriminaL 0 iet : = 0 h nc c = 0 regardl of t h al ue of K.
CO Ie ociet : K = 0 h nc c = 0 regardl of t h val ue of .
Cooperative society of ki l l d peopl e: l arg K and h nce l arg c.
The above formul a " a = K . E, " ummari ze the chal l enge to pre ent
day societi e : To i nvent way to i ncrea e bth t hei r soci al cohe i on wi thi n
rea on and thei r effi ciency, i n order to enhance t hei r survi val chance.
Let me cl o e thi s ecti on by posi ng t hree open probl em for further
research. The fr t i t hi . We have treated cohe i on and effi ci ency
a mutual l y i ndependent vari abl e , but act ual l y they are not. In fact,
c h i on i ncreas i n me becaus i t faci l i tat ol l ecti ve endeav r
and decrea expendi t ures on se uri ty. Al 0 a hi gh nati onal i n ore
Citizen and Polity 81
faci li t ates wide pread acce t o natural and cul tural re ource . A more
. ophL ti cated model . houl d be free from these l i mi tati on . .
Another probl em concern. the po . . i bl e dependence of vi abi l i ty upon
. oci odi er. i ty. Ecol ogi . t, ued t o t hi nk t hat bi odi ver, i ty i ncrea. e. i
abi l i ty. Thi s hypothe. i s i s no l onger hel d: nat ure can onl y provi de . 0
many habi tat. . J u. t a. there . eems to be an opt i mal bi odi ver. i ty val ue,
i t i . l i kel y that there i s an opt i mal . oci odi er. i ty al ue whi ch i. nei ther
maxi mal nor mi ni mal . The reason i l i kely to b ' that as oci odi ver i t y
i ncrease , 0 does the number of speci al i nterests some of whi ch are
bound t o be mutual l y confi - t i ng.
The t hi rd and l ast probl em i the toughest : Al l of t h ' above hypth
e '. are empi ri al l y te tabl e but they have yet to pa ' , empi ri cal t 'sts.
My ' u ' e for i ncl udi ng them i s that h ' r ' we are doi ng phi l o- ophy, not
sci ence. And i t i part of the job descri pt i on that pol it i al phi lo ' oph 'rs
. houl d l ook b yond the hori zon.
8. I ntersts: Your line and Ours
ormal peopl are both sel f-regardi ng and other-regardi ng. They l ook
after t h ir own i ntere. t . but th y a1 . o tak oth r peopl ' s i nterests i nto
account . That is t hey often do favors to others parti ci pate in coopera
t i ve vent ures and sel dom i f ever engage in ant i ' oci al behavi or. Onl y
p ' ychopat hs ar ut terl y ' el f ' h. Yet the upholders of radi cal rat i onal "
choi c t heories hol d that everyone at tempt ' to maxi mi : hi ' own xpected
ut i l i t i e " wi th total di sregard for other peopl e' , i nterest .
I n part icular, the economi c theory of pol i ti cs or rather vot i ng bhav
i or hol d ' t hat the rat i onal ci t i zen has no i ntere , t i n vot i ng becau ' e he
know that a i ngl e vote i s unl ikel y to make a di f rence ( Down 1 957'
01 on J 965 . Moreover thi theory holds that ci tizen ordinari l y vote for
th i r ( p rcei ed) i nter . : They alway ote with th i r wallets. Undoubtedly
uch a choice i tark]y i mmoral accordi ng to the ociological defini ti on ' I m
moral = Anti oci al . But wh ther peopl do a t i n that way i an mpi ri cal
quest i on, not a moral one. Let U ' gl i mp e at the empi ri cal e i dence.
Over the pa t few decade , a number of p ychol ogi t ha e conducted
experi ment to check whether i n fact al l p opi e are maxi mi zer . We hal l
not revi ew i n detai l the cl assi cal experi mental tudj es of Kahneman and
hi coworker ( Kahneman, Sl ovi c, and Tver ky 1 982 , becau e they are
rat her wel l known. One of t hem i that we tend to grow fond of t hi ngs
uch as t i e , l ong after we have ceased u i ng them-whence the habi t
f a cumul at ing junk i n t he att ic . Let u report i n tead n a D w re ent
t udi e t hat c nfrm and enl arg the previ ou f ndi ng .
3
alues and Morals: Individual and Social
Mo.| po| i |i ca| i u arc ahou| soci a| proh| cm . and thc c in | urn
in o| v uch va| uc a curi ty, |airn i nc| u i vcn - qua| i |y and
|rccdom. c cry onco|whi ch canhcci | h r cxpand d or hrunk. Va| ucs
ha r ccn| | yhccomc a| | | hc ragc i n Am rican po| i t i c . | ndc d. many
Am rican havchccnp rsuad d|ha|po| i |i c ha uddcn|yhccom ac| a h
h twc n|hoscconccrn dahoutva| u and|ho whoarcno| .Mor ovcr
| hc Chri | i an Ri ght c| ai m to havc a monopo| y on va| ucs. Sanc|i mony
ischcapcr| han vi r|uc. Lvcn|hcprc t i gi ousScience cchocd|ha|vu| gar
opi nion ahou| thc rcccncy o|va|ucs. In i| |chruary | | . 2005 cdi |ori al
| hc puh| icati on c| ai mcd |ha| ` ci cnccandi | products arc i n|cr cct i ng
morc|rcqucn|l yj|hani n|hcpat] wi thccrtai nhumanhcl i c| andva| uc .
.
And i | addcd |ha| ccrtai n rcccnt cxpcri cncc j prc umah| y |rcsi dcn|
Bu h rcc| cc|i n|womon|h car| icr j suggc ||ha|thcva| uc di mcn i on
i shcrc |o |ay``
I n |a | a|| purposivchumanac|i nsha cu/ito\s hada va| u di mcn-
i on.` I ndccd c cry| i mcw do omcthi ngdc| i hcra|c|ywh | hcrhshi ng
r |radi ng. c ncc|uri ng r chccki ng a hypothc i swc makc m rc or
| c s cxp| i ci | va| uc udgmcn . Onc | akc ac|i n A hccausc onc a| ucs
ci|hcrA i ni tscl |orancxpcc|cdcon cqucncco|A. Inpar|icu| ar. i cnti | c
r ccarchha a| way hccn pul | cdhy ccu| ar val uc . ucha knowl cdgc
andpccrrccogni | i on. Andpol i |i c may hcrcgardcda |hc oci al action
| ha| cndcavor |ocithcri mp| cmcn|orh| ockva|uc y |cin .
Thcquc |i oni notwhc|hcrwchol dva| uc hu| whcthcrwc canu | i |y
anddchatc ra| iona| l yahou| |hcm I | i hcrc whcrc chol ar di ||cr. Max
Wchcr | 88a) wamcd hi co| | caguc agai n | maki ngva| uc udgmcn|
|or hc hc| i cvcd |hcm |o h i ncurah|y uhcc| i c. Bycon|ras| Gunnar
Myrda| | 6 cnoi ncd oci a| ci cn| i L |o |ar| hy dcc| ari ng t hci r
va| uc . Thcrca oni | hat whcrca | hcphy i ca| uni vcr c i va| uc-|rcc
|hc 0 i a| wor|d i va| uc-| adcn and 0 i sany ugg 4i onorcommand
H7
HH Political Philosoph
|o on cr c or rc|orn i t . Hcncc |hc i ntcrcst o| po| it i ca| ci nt i . |s and
phi | o. ophcrs i n i dcn|i fyi ng anddcf ni ng va| uc. i n ho|h po| i |i ca| act i on
andpo| i t i ca|di scours a..|ori n. |ancc, i nrccardi nc|hccompc|cncyor
|ai rnc . . o|anadmi ni |ra|or.Thi si a|owhywcgctcmhroi |cdi nra|i ona|
andsomc|i mc i rra|i ona| dcha|csahou|va| uc and |hci rranki ncin a| |
wa| ks ot | i tc. Un| i kc |a tc . whi h arc | argc| y uhcc|i vc. somc a| uc ,
su h a | i vahi | i |y and pcacc,arc ohcc|i c. andthcrc|orc dcscrvchci ng
di u cdra| i ona| | y.
|rcsumah| y.va| ucscmcrg don| yahout | hrcc- and-a-ha| |hi | | i onycar
ago |ogc|hcrwi |h thc hr | | i vi nghci ngs. | ndc d whcrcas omc| hi ng .
such a wa|cr arc va| uah| c |o a| | organi ilS o|hcr . u h a su| |uri c
aci d arc han:|u| |oa| | o||h' 11. Oh cti c va| u cxi t a proprti :.
not n| i | ic ) whc|hcror no| |hcy arc known or |c| | . Ordi nari | ythcy ar
rccogni zcdi nthc oursc o| i ndi vi dua| dcv| op| n| . | npar|i u|ar 1can
|i agc|di sco crcdthat sharcdt|ha| i s, . oci a| va| u , . uchasrcci proci ty
and so| i dari | y ar | carn| at homc. . choo| . or |rcct. and morc | hrough
co| l cti v gam . t han crmon c Mocssi nccr | 8 .
Whatho| d |or a| uc. a| 0 ho| ds|ormora| . I nani matcnat ur and|hc
| owcrani ma| s arc amora| . |crhaps on| y |hc grcgarious ani ma| prac|icc
mora| |or|hcsi mp|crca.on|ha|mora| ityamoun|s|opro-soci a| i |y,which
i n|uminccc sary|orcocxi s|cncc.Toput|hi i nncgativc|crm i mmora|i | y
i scquiva|cnt| oan|i - oci a| i|y.whichi n| umiincompatih|cwi |hc xi |cncc.
Hcnc |hc ancicntroo| o||h mond cmo|ion---cmpathy. ympa|hy, and
sham a wc|| a o|| h o|d tand mo | wi dc prcado|mora| pattcms,
namc|yrcciproca|a|trui mrc|umi nggood |orgood andhad |or had.
Bccausc va| uc and mora| sarcanchorcdi nhothhrai nsand oci cti c ,
ra|hcr| hanhovcri ngahovc|h m. cr hrai ndamag and oci a|di rup-
| i onmaycau |h 1 0 ot|h mora| n c. |or xamp| c. hi | a|cra|damagc
o|th n|rom di a|pr |ron|a|cor| xi mpai r | h ahi | i | y|o|c| | right|rom
wrong cc.c. g. Ko ni g | a| . 2007 ; | i kcwi c warmakc u |org ||ha|
|hc ncmy i us| a human a u . Thu contrary |o r c i v d opi ni on.
on| y a hi o 0 i a| , hcnc ma| cri a| i 1. approach |o va| u andmora| can
savc u |rom ho|hrc| a| i vi m ( ` a| | va| ucs and mora| s arc cqui va| cn| )
andau|hori |ari ani sm( on| ya upcri orhci ng whcthcrdci |yorru| cr.can
know wha|i good|oru . ||may a| 0 savcu |romthchypocri |c who
i nvokcsacrcdva|uc |o hc||cr advanccmatcria| i n|crc | .
1 . Interests and Val ue
| p| carc dri cnormo|iva|cd hyi n|crcst . Lvcry i n|crcs|i t hci n-
| r | | om nci n omc|hi ng. Str i | | y pcaki ng n| yi ndi vi dua| s an
Values and lorals 89
havci ntcrc |s. hccau |hc c ar hi o| ogica| urgcsormcnta| dri c. . St i | |
i n|crc | canhca||ri hu|cdi naf gura| i vcscnsctosuprai ndi vi dua|cn|i |i cs,
uch as croups, | rm par| i cs. and na|i on. . |or cxamp| c, onc may say
|ha| it i. in |hc i n|crc.| o|a con rc|c sy|cm tha| uch and such condi -
|i on. hcmc|hccau.c|hcyarc|a orah| ctoi tspcrsi |cncc.A|oma|soci a|
organi za|i on. suchasa| ahoruni on, mayhc ai d|orcprccn| adcquatc| y
norno| )| hci n|crc |s harcdhyi |mcmbr . Andapo| i t i ca|organi za|i on,
sucha apar|y mayad anc t hpuh| i ci n|crc | . I n|ac|oncci nawhi |ci |
mu tdo o ora| | ca | mus| appar| odos o i | i | wi hc | ogai n or kccp
|hc|avoro|i| uppor|cr .
I ntcrcs| arc o||n cqua|cd wi | h cconomi i n| r s|s. Thi i s undcr-
s|andah| c, ast h s|rugg| |or | i |c .md gcopo| i t ica| powcrarc hasi ca| | y
s|rugg|c ovcrc onomi crc ourccsucha | and. wa|cr.|orc |s mi nc and
oi | . |ori n umc | h Mi dd| cLa |ha h na |rong| yconHi ct i c rcgi on
i nc |h |a| | o||h Ot|oman Lmpi rc hccau c it happcn. |o contai n| h
ri ch s| oi | f c| donLar| h. |rc.tnnah|y.t hi . conHi c|wou| dno| havcHarcd
up i||a|c. | i ncand|hc1 wi hhomc| andw rc .i | ua|cdinarcsourc -poor
r gi on. .uchas|a|agoni aorUganda-a. ThcodorHcrz| .thc|oundcro|
Zi oni sm. dr amcd|orawhi | .
Howc r thcr ar i nt r |s o| .c cra| ki nd. . no|on| ycconomi chu|
a|socnvironmcn| a| , hi o| ogi ca| , po| i ti ca| . andcu| | ura| . | suggc | |hcp|a|i -
|udctha|cvcryrcsponsi h|cadu| | has i ntcrc t
.
o|a| | | vcki nd |houghi n
di ||crcn| propor| i ons. a can hc ccn |rom |hcc||or|. r ourcc or | i mc
di ||crcntpcop|cspcndprocuri ng| hcmc.m |o a| i |y|hcm. |orc amp| c,
whcrca po| i t i ci ansspcndmo | o||hci rt i mc ccki ng orkccpi ngpowcr,
po| i |i ca| ci cnt i s| arc c pcc|cd | o sp nd | hci rs |ryi ng to undcr |.md
po| i | i . Look atth |o| | owi ng |ah| c.
T pe ofinlere5(
Ln i ronm n|a|
Bio| ogi ca|
Lconomi c
|o| i | i ca|
Cu| |ura|
Example
Rich.di v r . a| n i ronmcnt
Sa|c|y.goodhca| |h |ood
L|| ci cncy rcward.ohsccuri |y
|owcr. goodgovcrnancc. | i hcr|y
Know| cdgc.hcau|y cduca|i on
Li | i ng|ypi ca| humani ntcrct i pcdagogi ca| | y| nchu|i nsu|| ci cnt .
Wca| 0 nccda gcncra| andrca onah| yc|caranswcr|othcon|o|ogi ca|
quc | i n. Wha|i sani ntcrcs| .Thc|o| |owi ng onvcn|i nmayhc| pan wcr
| hi s qu | i on.
9 Political Philosoph
Defnition. I |cmA i an i ntcrc | o|c O i a| uni t B = A|| aini ng orprc-
scrvi nA i snccc. ary|or|hcwc| |arc o|B.
Ncx|comcs|hcmc|hodo|ogica|qucs|ion.Howdowcknow|ha| omc-
|hi ngi rca| | yin |hci n|crc | o|an i ndi i dua| ora oci a| uni |, rcgard| c . .
o||hci ntcrcs|or| acko|i | | ha| |hcuni | may admi | To f nd| hi sou| wc
nccd omc|hi ng| i kc|hc|o| | owi ng
Criterion. I|cmA i sin thci ntcrc | o|agi cn .oci a| uni | B i | and on| y
i |.whcncv r|hrat ncd|ohav i | accsstoA b|ockcd.B u asigni h -
can||rac|i ono|i | r ourcc | oat|ai ni ngorcon r i ngA.
A| |houghordi nari | ypcop| cwi |h si mi | ari n|crc | |cnd| og | |ogcthcr
|o d| nd thcm. |hy may dc| udc |h msc| vcs a |o | h i r rca| i ntcrcs| .
|or i ns|ancc. i n|h US |hcmanu|a |urcrs associ a|i on and th i r| hi nk
|anksprcach g|oba||rcctradccvcn|houghi | i gu| t i ngAmri canmanu-
|acturcs. Andi nr ccn|dccadcs| hcAm ri can| ahoruni ons uppor|cd|hc
sta|u quoandcvcnmi | i taryadvcn|urcs. I n short, pcrcci vcd int r s| do
notncccs. ari | ycoi nci dcwi t hrca| i n|crcs| s. Thcscar cxamp| cso|wha|
Marxca| | cd |a| c con ciou. ncss.`
I | hash nknown. i ncct hct i m o|Machi a | | i tha|po| i |i c. i ahou|
i nt rc. t . And vcryi n|cr .|i anccdord i rc|or om | i mitcdrcsourcc,
whcthcrphysi ca|| ikc| and watcr.andcn rgy, oci a| | i kc|radcroutc |hc
s|a|c, and |ri cnd hi p. orcu| | ura| uch a
.
know|cdgc. my|h. andbcau|y.
W ha c no par|i cu| ar i n|crcst |orwhat wc | pcrhap mi |akcn| y) |akc|or
gran|cd.wc c|domdc i rc|ha|whi chwccanno|attai n. Ordinan|ywcva|uc
on| y accc i b|c but carcc rc ourcc , t hat i i |cm |hat can bc cnoycd
di rcc| | y,| i kc| ovc.orput|ou c,| i kcap|o|o||and. |orbc||cror|orworsc,
w a i gn | i |t | orno a| u |owha| rsc m |o b |rcc|ya ai | ah| | i k
c|can ai rorunsough|advi cc. Bu|wha| wcgrca||yva| ucwcdo o |o|h
poi n|o|d tachi ng| hc i |cmva| ucd|rom i t va|u .andpcaki ngo|va| uc
a i ||h Y w rcthi ng . How v r. on rcHcct i on wc rca| i z |ha| a| u ar
prop r|i o|t hi ng orcvcn| no| n| i |i c . H n i| i wrong |o ay, |or
in |ancc,|hathca| |hand trut har va|uc . th y ar va| uab| .
Morcovcr va| uc arcrc| a|i ona| propcrti cs no|i n|ri n i concs. Tha|i ,
cvcry a| uc i |hcwor| ho| omct hi ng|or omconc. |or i n |ancc, |ood
i va| uab| c|oraU organi ms. and know|cdgc o|po| i |i csi va| uab| c|or
any adu|t human. n | ogi ca| tcrm a| uc arcn-p| accprcdi catc , whcrc
11 2. ) And whcrca somci |cm arc va| uab|ci nt hcm c| vc , o|hcr arc
va| uab|c a mcans and t i | | o|hcr arc va| uab|c bot h i n|rinsi caHy and
i n | rumcn|a| | y.|ori ns|an c. i nprinci p| ca| | t rut h go d|oknowpro-
idcd i| d csnot harm and somctru|h arcva| uab| as mcan | a|| ai n
prac| i a| cnds.
Values and lorals 91
Anysct o|val u c maybcsp| i t i ndi hcrcntway . Wc arcpart i cu| ar| y
i ntcrcs|cdi n|wodi hcrcn|par|i ti ons. .ubcc|i vc/obcc|i vc,andi ndi i dua| /
oci a| . Subc | i vcorpcrsona| a| ucsdcpcndonthcbi o| ogi ca| makc-up,
ba kground, pcr.ona| i |y,and oi a| s|a|u. o|i ndi vi dua| .Thus. whcrcas
omcpcrson | i kccommcrci a| mu i c, o|hcr dc pi sci | . Bycontra. t, ob-
cc|i cva|uc. arc|hoscwhoca||ai nmcn|i obcc|i vc| ynccc ary|or|hc
wc| | - bi ng o| omcora| | pcop|c. |orcxamp| c, c cryoncbcncf |s |rom
c |can ai rand po| i |cn ss. Agai n i ndi i dua| a| ucs. u h as wc| | -bci ng,
arcsought|oronc` pri a|c akc.whcrcas o i a| va| u:. suchas u t i cc,
d ri |romsoi c|yorcon|ri butc|o oc ia| wc| |arc. Hcrcwcarcpat!i cu-
| anyi ntcrcs|cd i nsoci a| a| uc o||hpo| i |i ca|ki nd-|ho |ha| mcrgc
or ubmcrg a a con cqucncc o|po| i | i ca| acti onori na |i on. | ubmi |
|ha|asoci a| ordcri |h b ||cr, |hcmorc pohti ca| va| u i t suppo|! .
|cw|a ksarcasd m.mdi ngaavoi di ng a| ucconHi |s. |orcxamp| c,
Chri s| i an. . hou| d no| xa| | ``|ami | y a| ucs |or, i |wc arc to hc| i c
Ma||h w ( | 0. J4 | . 2) Chri s|cnoi ncdhi s di ci p| cstoabandon|hci r
|ami | i cs. orshou| dMarxi s| scck p ac , |or|h y p| ac gr atva| ucon
chanc .anda||h samc| i mch |i vcindi a|cc|i ca| ma|cri a| i m, accordi ng
|owhi cha| | chang comcs|romcon|I ic| . or.f na| | y .hou| d| i hcra| h
dcmocra|i c. hccau dcmoracyi nvo| csr s|ri c|i ng| ihcrti cs, inpar|icu| ar
|hoc o|owni ng, cxp| oi t i ng andchca| i ngpcop| c.
Howcvcr. |hct hrccva| uccon|! ict wchav u |no|cdarc a no|hi ng
by compari on wi| h thcconf! i c| rai scd by |hc ` God. country, |ami | y
i dco|ogysharcd by |hc prc-warCa|ho| i c|a ci s| and |hc contcmporary
ri gh| -wi ng Lvangc| i ca| s. I ndccd. God can on| y prcvai | i | coun|ry and
|ami |y arc p|accd bchi nd Hi m. ` My coun|ry ri gh| or wrong ` on| y i |
Godor |ami | yar bc|raycd, and|ami |y cans|ayon |opo| |hc a| uc| ad-
d r on| y i |Godorcount ry ar |or akcn. |orbc|| r or|or wor , uch
conH ict occuron| y rarc| y. bccausc ordi nari | ya |our| h a| u nam | y
pri a|c i n| r | pr vai | ov ra| | o|hcr.
||maybc|hough|t ha|va| u con i |cncy hou| dno|bchardcr|oa|tai n
|hana oidi ngcon|radic|i oni nma|hcma|ic oranyo|h rdi ci p| i n . Bu| i |
i s hardcr,bccauscva| ucconHi ct mayi nvo| ccmoti onsa wc| | a ri gh|
o|o|hcrpcop| c, and o |hcy mayrcqui rc ci thcrvi o| at i ngt hcmor omc
acri |cco| c| |.Yc|,va| ucconHi c| canbcrc o| vcd,a||ca tconccp|ua| | y
wi |h|hchc| po|ahumani tmora| i t yt hatcnoi nsu tobothcnoyi ng| i |c
andhc| pi ngothcrscnoy | i |c. |or i ns|ancc whcndra||cd|of ght|or|hc
un u | aggrc i c)sidci nami | i taryconHi ct |hcpcacc |o cr wi | | honor
bo|h bro|hcr and coun|ry by bc omi ng a c ns i cn| i ou obcc|or and
vo| untccring|oworki nanaux i |i ary cr i cc. sucha cooki ng rnursi ng.
92 Political Philosoph
I n hor| . va| uc conH ict ac unavoi dab| and th y arc no| rc o| vcd by
axi o|ogi ca| rc.carchbu|bycxami ni nc|hcconcrc|c i |ua|i on whcrc|hcy
cmcrgc,andrccommcndi ngoradop|i nc|hccoursco|a |i on|ha|bc |f |
a mora| codc| ha| ad an cs| hcin|crc | so|bo|h IgoandAhcr.
A| 0, a| uc do no| cxi t i n a || atoni rca| m o|purc i dca . Va| uc.
archc| dorrccc|cdby rca| pcr.on , andpo| i |i ca| ac|i onmay|ran|om
|hcm i n|o ri ch|s. Thc. c, i n| um, ci vc pcop| c|hc abi | i |y |o pcr|om a -
|i on i n|cndcdtocmbody |ho c a| u i n|o| hi ngs uchas brad | oav
andprocc scs uchas 11 c|i ngo|hcrpcop|c. | n ho|!. va| ucs or rathcr
va| ua|i ons |ri ggcrprocc : o|| h |o| | owi ng |yp.
Va| ucs |o| i |i c Ri gh| A |ion Goods
1 ubmi | |ha| u i ng po| i |i cs|or|ran |ormi ng va| u s i n|o ri gh| . and
u| i | i zi ngri gh|sandac|i onsa int rmcdi ari c. hc|wc n va| uc. andgoo ,
arc |ypi ca| o|modcrni |y |rom |h In| i gh|cnmcn|onwards. Bc|orc | ha|
p ri od,|a| ko|ri ght wasrarcandordi nari | yi nanc,|or|hcywcrcnotcn-
shri ncdi n|hcha. ic| awo|| hc|and. I ndccd.i t a||star|cdwi | h|hc Amcrican
R vo| ution o| | ??6 whi ch proc| ai mcdthcri ght |o| i |c,| i h r|y,and|hc
pursui | o|happi ncss. Thc|rcnchR vo| uti ono| | ?8cn. hri ncdasomc-
whatdi ||crcn| |ri p| c. | i br| y cqua| i ty,and|ra|cmi|y or o| i dari |y) . o|c
|hcmod rni |yo||ouro||hcva| ucscxa| tcdbytho crcvo| u| i on . | i bcr|y,
cqua| i ty |ratcmi ty,and|hcpur ui|o|happi nc nonco|whi choccur
in thcScri p|urcso|.my o||hcso-ca| |cdgrca|rc| igi on . o| i cc a|so| ha|
on| y|hc| hi rd so| i dari |y.hasncvcri nspi rcdany ma murdcrs.
Wc wi | | cxami nc| hrcc o||hoc |ourva| uc . | i |c (orsccuri t y) , cqua| -
i |y and o| i dari |y. La| r on w ha| | add u t i c |rccdom. andcompc-
| ncc.
2. Biosocial alues I: ecurity Equality Solidarity
I| i hard| ycon|rovcrsi a| |hatsccuri |y bo|h i ntcrna| and x|cma| . isa
mu t . As on|uci u sai d ` | n ccuri |y i wor c |han pov r|y. ` Bu| wha|
i ccuri |y and whi ch i |hc bc t mcans |o achicvc it arc subcc| o|
controvcr y bccausc o|i| conccp|ua| i mprcci ion. Thcrcarc|wo|ypc
o| ccuri ty. i ndi vi dua| and co| |cc|ivc. Thc |ormcrcovcr uch di vcr c
dcsidcrataasbci ngab| c|owa| k| hc | rcct a|c| y whi | cco| | ccti vc ccu-
ri t ycanbcna|i ona| ori ntcma|i ona| . Lc|u tar| wi |h pcrona| ccuri |y,
orpro|cc| iono| c| |.
| rsona| ccuri |yhas|hrccmai ndimcnsi on cnvironmcnta| . bi o| gi -
ca| andc nomi . Invi ronmcn|a| ccuri |y i protccti n agai n | nau| ra|
Values and lorals 93
dia |crs.c uchastornadocs and man-madcd astcr . ucha i ndu. |ri a|
po| | uti on and c| oba| warmi nc. Di as|cr o|both ki nds|rc pa . . pri va|c
propcr|i csandcvcnbordcrs.and|hcymakc| i |chardorcvcni mpo i b| c.
Hcnccprotcc|i onagai n || hcmca| | |or |ron ta|ci ntcrvcnt i on. prc|cr-
ab| yo||hcprc cn|ivctypc. T . uggcst|hatpro|cc|i onagai n |cnvi ronmcnta|
hazard o|ca h o||hc |wo ki nd rcqui rc mca.urc o|di ||crcn| | ypcs.
Na| ura| di a|crs an bc mc|by a oi di ncdi a|cr-pronc arca, u h a
|hcnotoriousTornadoA|| cy i n|hcUni |cd ta|c a w | | a by bui | di ng
on a|cgroundandwi th sta|co|thcar||cchni qu:. suchasan| i -sci |ui c
andan| i -| sunami cngi nccri ng.
Bycon|ra | g|oba| warmi ngandpo| | ut i on ca| | |or s|rongcr |a|c i n-
|cr|crcncc i npr i atc a||air. bccau c i| cau cd mai n|y by | arg- a|c
i ndust ryand|ranspot!a|i on.On|ynow a|| r|ourdccadcso|campai gni ng
by NGO and thc |ubbom rcsi s|ancc o| rip| oyr ` a so ia|i ons, |hc
oi | -car- road comp|cx. and thci rpo| i | i ca| r prc cn|a|i cs, ncar| y c cry-
oncadmi ts thcconc| u i onso|th 200?INpan 1 o|cxpcr|. on c| i ma|
chang . Th y arc | ha| 0 o| | hi . changc hasbccn causcd hy human
acti vi |y and|ha|to prc cn| |ur|hcrdc| ri ora|i ono||h nvi ronmcnt w
mu t adop| draconi an m a. urc. |hatarc hound |o ahcctnoton| yhusi -
ncs. shu| a| so| hci ndi i dua| | i s o| vcryon .
Bi o| ogi ca| ccuri | y, or a|c|y.consi tsi npro|cc| i on |rom a| | ki nd o|
vi o|cnccwh | hcrathomc, |hc t rcc|. |hcworkp| acc | hcnci ghborhood,
or|hcna| ion. oonc| i kc |ob bca|cnup,no|cvcnby| hci r|ovcdoncs.
Wc a| | dcsi rc domcs|i c and s| rcc| - rc| a|cd ccuri | y. Lvcryonc nccd to
bc ab|c|o wa| kthc | rcc|si n a|| y. Thcworkp| acc| oo hou|d bc a|c,
and work hou| dbc rcwardi ng. |i na| |y.cvcry ci t i zcnha |hc ri gh||obc
i mmunc |rom un u | i h dvi o| ncc on |hc par|o|it own |a|c and oth r
|a|c . p acc bo|h i n|crna| and i ntcrna| i ona| ar mu | .
L | u Ii na| | y p ck a| cconomic ccuri t y. Iconomi |- |i nan i a|
ana| y | s andbusi nc xpcr| sar und r tandab| yi n| r |cdi nbu i n
ri ksa| |hough t h y arc no| yct agrccd on |hc corr c| ri k mca.ur .
|ai | ur |r qucncyVari an ? |n c |mcn| i z t i mc |ai | ur |rcqu n y )
Bu||hcysccm i ndi ||crcn|| o|hcvariousri k |ha|cmp| oycc omc| i mc
run. ob-rc| a|cd 'rcss.i n ury.hara mcn|. puni shmcn||oroi ni nga|abor
uni on dcprc cd| abormarkc|,di mi a| , | ock-ou|.wagcdrop.or| o o|
rc| ircmcnt bcncf| s. Lconon+i c ccuri |y i suchan i mpor|an| va| uc tha|
| hc | n|crna| i ona| Labor O|hcc 2004a) a UN organi za|i on. rcgard i |
a abai c human ri gh|. Rcgrc||ab| y mo | mora| and| cga|phi | o ophcrs
havc vcr| ookcd|hi va| uc.
94 Political Philosoph
Lc| u now gathcr|og |hcr|hc vari ou di mcn i on o| ccuri |y. 1 un-
dcr. t andby ` | i abi | i |y, i n|cgra| ccuri ty,` or ut ` ccuri ty, | hcsc| o|
ma|cri a| condi |i on. o|cxi .tcncc, sucha |ood housi ng, cmp| oymcn|,
hca| t hcarc,pro|cc|i on|romvi o| cncc, ac| canandpcacc|u| cn i ronmcn|,
ando| d-agcpcnsi on. Li |ccannotbc|u| | ycnoycdwi |hou||hcm.And|hc
hungry,homc| c or i ckcanno|bccxpcc|cd|obccapab| candwi | | i ng
o| hc| pi nothcrs | i tha| i , o|cxcrci i i c o| i dari |y. No|c a| 0 t ha| ,
con|rary| obo|hs|andardcconom csandnco| i bcra| i m | amno| wri | i ng
about prospcri ty bu| us| abou| | i vabi | i | y-n i ronmcn|a| bi o| ogi ca| .
andcconomi c. Thi i s amorcahordab| cgoa| , andonccompa|i b| wi th
|hc modcra| i on. or cvcn |ruga| i ty. n cdcd |o achi cvc cnvi ronmcn|a|
sus| ai nabi | i |y. Bycon|ras| | hc|cn:: ' a|hucn c` and` prospcri | y` cvok
| uxury andwa |c. | n hor| wc hou| dadd ' | i vabi | i |y. or ` i n|cgra|pcr-
sona| ccuri |y
,
|o |h admi rab| | ri ni |y W ' i nhcri |cd |rom |hc |rcnch
Rc o| u| i on.
But o|cour. i nt gra| p rsona| sccuri |y-|hc c| o|ma| ri a| condi -
|i on. o|cxi s|cncc-do s no| |a| | homhcavcn hu| mu.d bc carncd hy
i ndi vi dua| orcroups. A. LockcandSmi |h argucd. | ahori |hcu| | i ma|c
sourcco|a| | | gi | i ma|cwca| |h.And,a. Marxaddcd workcan a| o hca
mcan. o|cmanci pa|i onand . ||- rca| iza| i on. Howcvcr manyoccupa|i on.
i nvo| vi ngmanua| workarc| i|cra| | y `di rty. `o|hcrsarcdangcrou and |i | |
o|hcr arc t i gma| i zcdi nccr| ai n ocic| i c |orpurc| ycu| | ura|rcasons. |or
in | ancc. in | ndi aon| y|ow-cas|cpcop|c canworka wccpcrs, garbagc
co| |cctors, tanncr . orcvcn hocmakcr . But in morcad .mccd ocic|i c
manyprcvi ous| yd pi cdoccupa| ionsarcno | ongcr |i gmat i zcdand i |
workcr gct pai dwc| | . |or in | ancc bookkccpcr oncc| hc| ow | i n|hc
whi tc-co| | arhicrarchy.ha ri scn|omanag r |at us, Toron|ogarbagcco| -
| c|or carn 40pcrhour andi nNcwYork| h yca| || h m | c ` ani tary
cngi nccr . `Thu .` occupa|i on mayd vc|op uph mi sm , c| i nica|| rm .
and a uniquc argo| to mu| thc a| i ncc o|di r| andcdi |y |ai n|cd |a ks
Krci ncrc|a| 200. 27) .
| nany vcn|. a| | adu| | smu |work| o| i vc anda| | norma| pcop| wan|
|o work. |or. con|rary to bo|h|hc Bi b|c and |andard cconomi c i ncc
Smi |h, cxp ri mcnt ha shown|hat `man ha an i nhcrcn| nccdo|work `
|o|hcpoi nto|dcc| i ni nggood pay in cxchangc|ori d| cnc ( Hcbb | 5J .
Thu , |ar|rombci ngacursc worki hi gh| yva| uab|ctot hci ndi i dua|a
wc| | a |o oci cty. Hcncci | i dc i rab| c|oguaran|cc |hcri gh|and duty
|ogai n|u| work. Bu|a|prcscn||hi ri gh|i hardtoi mp| cmcnt, andi tha
n t cv n bccn nshri ncd i n| aw. | ndccd.ma pr duc|i onand|rcc|radc
amonguncqua|nat i ons|wo| radcmark |i ndu |ri a| api |a| i smbrccd
Values and lorals 95
uncmp| oymcn|. whi chi n|hcThi rdWor|do||cnrcachc 50 o||hcadu| |
popu| at i on.
As|orna|i ona| sccuri ty.| radi | i ona| | yi | ha bccn .ough|| hroughmi | i -
|arymi ght . Bu| aci i | i zcdanddcmocrati c oci c|y hou| du c|orccon| y
as| hc| a. trc.or| . Thi j . 0 no| on| ybccau c i o|cncca||ack basi cri chts,
bu| a| sobccausc vi c|ory by|orcc ha . c| dom | a| i ng rcu| | . | ndccd t o
a||ai n ccuri | yi | i s bc|tcr|omakc|ri cnd orncutra| |hancncmi c. . Thi s
i s why i ncc | i mc i n ncmori a| whcn mc ti ng | rangcrs pcop|c ha c
shown| hci rcmptyhand ra|hcr|hanawcapon. |ur|hcrnorc |hchabi t ua|
rc or||o|orcccmpowcrscxc i vc| y|hc|aw-and-ordcrand armd|orccs.
| n|crna| pcacc i b: t cur d | hroughus| i : .md i n|crna|i ona| pcacc
| hrough|ai rn .mdcoopcra|i oni ni n|crnati ona|rc| a|i ons aswc| | a |hc
obscrvancco|i n|cma| iona||aw. ThcMagi no|Li nc. |hcs|rongcs|andmo |
sophi | i ca|cdt rcnch in hi s|ory did no|pro|cc||rancc |rom th Gcrman
ons| augh|. || us|gavc|hc|rcnchru| cr a|a| sc scn o| curi |y.
|| is wc|| known |ha| conccrn|ori n|crna| and i n|crna|i ona| .ccuri ty
can grow |o |hc poi n| o| obc. . i on. in whi ch casc i| i nvi | . cur|ai | i ng
ci vi | ri gh|s. ThcUni tcdS|a| ha. a| radi t iono|tradi ng .ccuri ty |orci vi |
ri gh|.Thus | hcAnarchi . |Scar i n|hc | 80wa. manu|ac| urcd|ohca|up
andc n hang| ahororgani zcr . . Thcrchadtohcahomhi ncvcryuni on
| oca| . Thc Rcd Scarcs i n |hc | 20 .md | 50 w r u cd |o p r ccu|c
| c||i s| o|a| | s|ri p
.
.|hcrcmu t b aRcdundcr vcrybcd.And| h Tcrror
Scarccngi nccrcd incc|hc / | | a||ack has rcndcrcddc|cn|i onwi | hou|
| ri a| , | ort urc, and prc-cmpti vc mi | i |ary aggrc ion | cga| i n thc cyc o|
manyAmcri c.m arcac|i on|ha|ha |uc|cda omcwhati rra| i ona| an| i -
Amcri c.m wavcaroundthcwor|d.
|cac i bothagoa|i ni | | |andamcans|ohui |d ccuri tywhcnc
| h pcrcnni a| r | ancco|paci | m. Howcvcr,wcmus| di | i ngui h t wo
ki nd o|pa i h m. Radica|orun ondi |i ona| andmod ratcorcondi |i ona| .
Thc radi ca| paci h | wi | | no|on| yah |ai n |rom cngagi ngi naggrc .i on.
Hcwi | | a| 0 oI| r|h oth r hcck. Thati h wi | | notcoun|crat|ack.and
wi | | work|or| h di handi ngo|a||sccuri t y|orcc . Th mod ra|cpaci h4
bycontral, wi | | rc i |aggrc i on and |avorrcduci ngandrc|ormi ng|hc
armcd|orcc .argui ng|hatthci rmcmbcr shou| dbcpcacckccp rs. carch
andrc cuc agcnt , and rc| i c|workcrs whcnna| ura| di sa |crs|ri kc .
Whcn na|i ona| ccuri |ybccomc |hcccn|ra|conccrno|agovcrnmcn|
a| |o|hcraspcc| o|| i |carc ubordi na|cd|oi |.|cop|carca kcdto acri hcc
propcr|y,| i br|y,andcvcn| i |c|ona|i ona| ccuri|y. Thi i whypo| i | i ci an
mc| i mc i nvcn| ccuri |yi u , in ordcr| i n rca c |hci r wn powcr
r t ha| o|| hci r wn coun| ry. Thus. Bi mar k cngi nccrcd |hc war wi th
9 Political Philosoph
Au |ri a |o u ni |y Gcrnmy Hi | |cr i n cn|cd |hc 1cwi sh- Bo| hcvi k|cri |
|o ci zc powcr,andGcorccW. Bush i nvcn|cd| raq sWMDs |oi nvadci |
and| opu| hi . owncount ryonapcni ancn| |a|co|cmcrgcncyand| hu.
i n| i mi da|c hi opponcn|.
Whcn na| i ona| ccuri |y i an au|hcn| i c i ssuc, |hc f rs| honc | and
i n|c| | i gcn||hi ng|odoi . |ounvci | i | root. Thi cxcrci scmayrc ca| | ha|
|hc cau. c | i c. wi |h us. no||hcm. |or i ns|ancc, | rac| chroni c ccuri ty
prob| cmi ducno|on| y|o|hci ncp|po| i i cso|i | nci ghbor .bu|a| soto
i| con|i nucd i||ga|o cupa|iono||a|s|i ni antc|:i|oric .Mrcwi thdrawa|
|rom |hcm wou| d o|vc ha| | |hc prob| cm and Am ri can ncutra| i|y i n
| h conH ic|wou| dso| vc| h o|h rha| |.Onrcason| hi s i s 0 di |hcu| | to
achi cvci tha|| hpo| i |i ci ansonboth i d o||hcf ncnccdcachothcr
|o r tai n powcr ano|hcr. |armorc i mpor|an|. rcason i |ha| |hc Uni |cd
S|at : us | ua | |oguardt hgatc|o|hcoi| wc| | sncx|dor.
War-.|atc-conduc|cdmas murdcr-i undoub|cd| y| hcmo ti rrati o-
na| was|c|u| , and i mmora|o|a| | anti soci a| acti vi | i c . . || i |hc u| | i ma|c
cri m . as my compa|ri o| A| b rdi | 870 argucd morc |han a c n|ury
ago. | ndccd, war vio| a|cs|h ri ghtto| i | o|ci vi | i ansas wc| | a comba|-
an|s-un| css |hcsc | i mi | | h ir ac| i vi |y |o droppi ng bombs |rom a sa|c
a| |i tudc. Bc. i dc , war drai n. |hc | rca. ury and | hr at n. ci i | | i bcrti c ,
si ncci nwart i mcthcci | i zcni s xpcctcd|oshu| up andpay up. Andyc|
un| i | rcccn| | ywarwasrcgardcdasaca| an+i | yonaparwi|hdrough|s. ||
|ookawor|dwar|orca| i zctha|warisavoi dab|cbccausci | i 0 man-madc.
And i | wa0 on| y i n | 28 |hat a| mo t a| | | h |a| 0 igncd | h Gcncra|
Trcaty|or|hcRcnunci a|i ono|War.
Thc Lcaguco| a|i on .md|hcUni |cd a|i onswcrc organi zcda||cr
|hcf rs|and ccondwor|d war rc pcc|i vc| ybccausca| | |hathad f na| | y
bc nund rs|ood.Th |ai | urco|| h Lcagucandthc| i mi |cd uccc o||h
U dono|provc|ha|wari i n vi tab| .bu|tha||h xi | i ngmcchani iu
|oprc n|ar | i | | i mpcr|cct.Thc xp ri nc a| 0 uggcs||hati n| ma-
|i ona| organi za|i ons hou| dbc upp| mcntcdwi thrcgi ona|on -i i | i an
a| | i anc ra|hcrthanmi | i |arypact |hough. Tor v r c|hcanci n|Roman
di c|um. ||youwan|pcacc. prcparc |orpcacc.
cx|i nouragcndacomc cqua| i |y. whi chi pri mari | yamora| i uc.
Somuchso. |ha| oci a| i ncqua| i |y wa |akcn|orgran|cd|rom| hcbcgi n-
ni ngso|ci i | i za|i on. f vcmi | |cnnia ago.| ih |hc mi d | 700 . whcna |cw
i n|c| |cc|ua| . par|i cu| ar| yRou cau Di dcro|.andMorc| | y dcc|arcdsoci a|
i ncqua| i t y|obcbo| hunna|ura|andi mmora| . Thcrci s noquc | i onbu||ha|
|hccga| i t ari an i dca| ha i nspi r d mu h ci a| rc| rm vcr|hc pas|| wo
ccn|uri cs par|icu| ar| y si nc thccmcrgcncc ||hcwc| |arc tatc ar und
Values and lorals 97
| 00and|hc cndo|nani |c tco| oni a| i m in |hc | 0 . How vcr bc|orc
goi ngahcad wcmu |rcca| ||hat|hcrcarcmanyki nd o|cqua| i |y,amon
|hcm po| i |i ca| and cconomi c a| vari ou | cvc| and di hcrcn| |uncti ons
( cc, c. g. Ti | | y | 8 .Undcrpo| i |i ca| dcmocracy,a| | ci | i zcn. arcsai dto
bc|rcc|ovo|candrun|oro|hcc, bu|somcmaybcmuchwca| |hicr|han
othcr adipari |y | ha| may bc u cdtopo| i |i ca| advan|acc.
|o| i | i ca| cqua| i | y ha ricn ncar| y c crywhcrc i ncc | hc cnd o|| hc
Wor|dWarll. Bycon|ra. t cconomi i ncqua| i |yamongi ndi vidua| andna-
|i on ha i ncrca cdJncc|hc | 80s,andwi |hi | |hthrca||odomc |icand
i nt rna| i ona|dcmocracy.|aradoxi ca| | y.cconomi ci ncqua| i |yhabcomc
morc pronounccd in |hc rich: t andmo. | powcr|u| na|i on (scc 1a ob
andSkocpo|2005) . And yc| conomi ci ncqua| i t yi noton| hcrcscarch
agcndao|nos| on|cmporarypo| i |i ca| sci cn| i | . Iti par|i cu| ar| yab cn|
hom| hcwri |i ng o|po| i to|ogi | scduccdby| hcnt| iona|-choicparadi gn
ucgc.dcdby |ha| mos|i | | u |ri ouso|i nt | | cctua| cada crs. ncoc| assi ca|
microcconomi cs. Thu. on| yon o||h | 4 mos|r ccn|prc. i d n|s o|| h
Amcri can |o| i | ica| Sci nccA. . oci a|i on A|SA xpr d conccrn |or
|hcncc|ccto|in qua| i|yi ssuc. inthc con| mporaryp| i |o| ogi ca| | i tcra|ur
Hoch chi |d2005 .Thi smaybc|akcnasasadi ndi ca|oro||hci rr | vanc
o|contcmporarypo| i |ica| phi | oophy|ocurrcn| po| i| i ca| . ci cncc.
Bycon|ras|, i ncqua| i |y i |hch r | i | cmin | hc ummary o|Contempo
rOI Socology, apub| i ca| i ono||h mcri canSoci o|ogi ca| A oci a|i on.
| | i sa| so|hcsubcc|o| |hci nvcs|i ga| i on |orwhi chAmar| yaScn | )
wasawardcd |hc so-ca| |cd ob| |ri zc i ncconomi c . Con| rary | o| hc
or|hodoxcconomi t who|ocuonGD|andcconomi cgrowt h Scnha
|ocu cd on i ndi vidua| capabi | i ty ( orpo i |i vc |rccdom) . '0 ha Mar| ha
Nu baum 2000) . Thi i s|h abi |i | yo|a p r on|o|unc|i onadcquat | y
andwi |hdi gni |yi nh r oci c|y. | uggcs||ha| a p r onbc om capab|
|o|hc x|cnt |ha| hccanmccta||h rpri maryobcc|i vcn cd nouri h-
m n| | odgi ng company, | c. a wc| | a hcr| gi | i ma|cd i rc |ho
who c a| i |ac| iondono|pr v n|anyon c| cfrommc |ing|hci rpri mary
n cd Bungc |8a) .
| a| 0 ubmi | that| hccapabi | i |yi nquc| i onmaybcana| yzcdi ntotwo
componcn| . oca|andi ncomccuma ct .Hi ghi ncomcdoc no|com-
p nsa|csoci a| | yand p ycho|ogi ca| |y |or|ow oci a| |atu , whcrca hi gh
oca| ta|u doc compcn atc|or| owi ncomc. Ordi nari | yadark- ki nncd
cnginccri snotmadc|c| | |hccqua| o|hi Whi tcco| |cagucs whcrcasan
i mpovcri shcd Luropcan or | ndi an ari |ocra| mi ng| c c||ort|c |y with
wca| |hys|a|u pccr .
98 Political Philosoph
|o| i |i ca| ci nt i |sarcundcr tandab| yi ntcrc |cdi n po| i ti ca| cqua| i |y.
as in |hc |om u| a. onc man, onc otc and onc na| on, onc o|c. By
con|ra.| , , 0 i o| ogi t and mora| phi | oophcrsoucht |obc i ntcrcs|cdi n
sc cra|o|hcrcqua| i |i c a wc| | , par| i cu| ar| yi ngcndcr,c|hni c, cconomi c,
andcu| |ura| cqua| i | i c . | na| | | hc c ca c cqua| i |ycan bc undcr|ood
in ari ousway par| i cu| ar| y i n|wo .cnc . cqua| i |yo|ri gh| (oroppor-
|uni | y) and cqua| i tyo|ou|comc. .
| ha| | di smi ou| o|handcqua| i |y o|ou| omc bccausccqua| ou|-
comcs anon| ybca||ai ndby|hcbru|a| c| i mi na|iono||hb 4cndowcd
andmo. | ori gi na| i ndi i dua| -|h way thc KhmcrRougc di c|a|or hi p
di di nCambodi a( | 75-7 . Babcu|propo cd|orccdcqua| i | yat |hc nd
o||hcci gh|ccn| hc n|ury. Kur|Vonncgu|and|atCooksa| i ri zcdi | i n|h
mi d- | 50s. Th mai n harac|cri nt hci rdy topi a wa |hc H.mdi appcr
Gcncra| .who ta kwas|omakcsurc|ha|cvcryon`sbrai nworksa||h
| owcs| common |c | .
On|hco|h rhand. wcshou| dbcvcryconccrncdabou|sharpi ncqua| i -
|i o|i ni |i a| cndowmcn| andoppor| uni t i cs bccaus thcy dcri |rom
un u| i fcd pri vi | cgc and arc .| ronc| y corr | a|cd wi t h po rty. uncm-
p| oymcn|. i gnorancc,cri m .andunhappi n s. Conscrva|i csc|ai m|ha|
carni ngsar |ar morc i mpor|ant|han rank. | mpor|an||owhom . o| to
|hc vas|maori |yo|wagccarncr . |or|hcm r |a|ivcdcpriva| i on isus|
asbada i n u||i ci cnti ncomc. |or i | makc | hcm |c | wor|h| c . | | doc
not makc an A|ri can Amcri can |cc| good |o know | ha| hc carn | 00
| i mcs morc | han an Ango| an. orma| | y, pcop| ccarc us| a much |or
|hci rr | a| i vcs|andi ng a |orth i r i ncomc. Un| i kcor|hodoxcconomi s|
andpo| i |o| ogi t soci o| ogi t havcknown| hi vcr i nccth pi onccri ng
worko|Robcr| M r|onandA| i Ro si i n | 50 c. g. Mcrton | 68) on
| hcrc|cr nccgroup. ando|Runci man | 66)andS n | | )onrc| a|i v
d pri a|i on. Morcovcr rcc n| p ycho| ogi ca| xpcri mcn| hav hown
|ha| mos| pcop| c di appro o| harp i ncqua| i tic . and arc wi | | i ng to
do omcthi ng|ocorr c||h m. |hcy ` ngagc i nco ||yac| tha| promo|
cqui |ab| r ourccdi 4ri bu|i on Daw | a| . 2007) .
S|a|i |i c how|ha|pcop| c| i chca| |hi crand| ongcri n|hcmorccga| i -
|ari an oi c|i c . sucha thc ordicna|i on ,|hcNc|hcr|and .1apan Cos|a
Ri ca, Uruguay andCuba.|hani nthc i ncga| i |ari an oci c| i c . uchas|hc
Uni |cd S|a|c and Bri |ai n. | n par| i cu| ar. |a|i | i c how | ha| i ncqua| i ty
o|i ncomc anda c| is |hc mo | rc| i ab| c i ndica|or. hcncc prcdi c|or. o|
cri mc ratc ( Gi | | i gan 200| . Rcgrc||ab| y, 'ati | i cs a| o how |ha| i ncc
|hc | 80 i n mci ncqua| i |y ha ri cn harp|y in a|| c un|ri c cvcn i n
|hca|Hucn|oncs Ga| brai |handBcmcr200| Kcnwor|hyand| ntuss n
Values and lorals 99
2005 .Whocandoub||ha||hi dcgrada| i ono|onco||hcmai ni ndi cators
o|modcrni |y isanc||ccto||hci ncrcai npowcro|corpora|i on. and|hc
concomi tan| shi || |o|hcpo| i |i ca| ri gh| around|hcwor| dHowcvcr, | c|
u rc umcourconccp|ua| di scu i onotcqua| i |y.
i ncc no |wo i ndi vi dua| s arc i dcn|i ca| , and si ncc wc shou| dchcri h
di vcr i |y, | ubmi | |ha|wc hou| dai m|or a .oci a| ordcr| hat promo|c
d i vcri ty and cqua| opport uni | i c. ra| hcr | han |orc i ng cqua| i | y, a
rcgi m |ha| cnsurc t hc ri gh| |o d |op c cryonc` capaci | i pro-
vi dcd|hcyarcnot an|i - oci a| . and| h ob| i ga| i ontopay soci c|yback
wha| oci c|y i nvcs| i n thc i ndi vi dua| ` cduca| i on. Thi s i s | h i dca
| hatLoui B| anc( | 847 ca| | cd `propor| i ona| i |y ` and u mmari zcdi n
| hc|amou |ormu| aadop| dby 0 i a| i | so|a| | | ri pc . To each a -
cording to hi needs, and from each ac 'oreing to his abilitie ' . Thi
i proportionalism ra|hcr| hancga| i | ari ani sm. Wc sha| | d c| op| hi s
| h mc i nt hc | a | chaptcr. |ornow | c| us g| i mp. c a| | hrc . ub c| .
| h ori gi n. o|cca| i |ari ani sm, and| h cqua| i ty-| i bcr|yandcqua| i | y-dc-
mocracyconncc| i ons.
| | has bc n .ai d |hat ga| i tari ani m i s part o||h 1 wi sh, hri . t i an
and | | ami c | radi |i ons. bccausc th y ho| d | ha| wc arc a| | chi | drcn ot
God. Howcv r, non o| |h s gr at r | i gi on. ` condcmncd .| av ry
or cr|domunt i | rcccn| | y. anda| | o|t hcmcxc| udcd |hc i nH dc| |rom
| hc commonwca| | h. | | am i | hc mo| advanccd o| thc | hrcc. |or i |
proc| ai m thc cqua| i t y o| | hc |ai | h|u | . Uni vcr a| cga| i | ari ani mi s a
modcrn i dca| . | t i
.
| i kc| y|o havc bc n i nvcn|cdby pi noza whoi n-
H ucnccdLockc. whoi n| urn i nHu nccdRou
.
cau, Didcro| .ando| hcr
mcmbcr o|| hc |r nch Ln| i ght cnmcn| . St i | | , thc mai n or vcn on| y
qua| i | y| hcyadvoca| dwa po| i | i ca| . 0 cra| | cqua| i ty wa promo| d
on| yby | hcGcrmanAnabapt i | i n| hc i x |ccnt hccn| ury and by | h
Ing| i hL c| | cr i n|h ncx| . Th | a|crSoci a| i s| and ommuni t w r
ga| i tari ans |oo.bu| |hcy addcd |ha| wi| h p ci a| abi | i | i c comc addcd
r pon i bi | i | i c .
S| ar| i ng i n | 64 |h Uni |cd Sta| cnac|cd A|h rma| i vcAc|i on| aw
andru| c |ha|as i gnmcri |poi n| |orracc ( andgcndcr . a|a |i mcwhcn
| ha| was| hc mo | raci | o|a| | |hc ad anccd na|i on . | nc cncc. |hosc
| awsa| | owpcop|c|oca|chupb |orcbci ngrcqui rcdtocompc|c.A|h rma-
| i vcac|i on ha bccncri t i ci zcda a |orm o|rcvcr c di cri mi na| i on. Thi
cri |i ci m i un|ai r. Wha| i | doc i |o givc oppor| uni t i c |o pcop| cwho
| ackcdthcmbc|orc us|bccau c o||hci r cx orco| or a acon cqucncc
|whi ch|hcywcrcno|wc| | pr parcd|ocn| rcompct i |i on |orob and
o| | cgc .A|hrma| i cac|i oni |hu i nthcsamc| caguca thchandi capi n
1 00 Political Philosophy
go| |. || |ow r |h barri r |ocn|rybu|no||hc barricrs|ocxi t . i | sccksto
cqua| i zcoppor|unit i c wi |hou|| owcri ngs|andard 0 |ha|it iscon. i|cn|
wi th mcri |ocracy(cc Hi | | | | ) .
| | wou| dsccmobvi ou. | ha| dcmo racycombi nc.cqua| i |ywi |h| i bcr| y
Garzn-Va| dc .000) . On| y conscrva| i vcs di agrcc. Thcy ho| d | ha|
| i bcr|yi i ncompa| i b| cwi t hcqua| i |yand, morcovcr,|ha|cqua| i t yt hrca|-
cns | i bcr|y.Thcydonot ay why butoncmaygucss|ha||hcyarcon| y
i n|crcs|cdi n|rcc n|crpri sc.whi chi i ndccd| hrca| ncdby| aboruni on
and | c||- |cani ng group ccki ng |o dccrca i ncqua| i |y or c cn a||cmp|
|oa||ai n oci a| u t icc. How cr a|| rt hdi a |rou pcr|ormancco||h
so-ca| | cd `rca| | ycxi t i ng '0 i a| i 11 ` a gcnui nc| i bcra| uchasDworki n
| | i s us|i hcdi n| i |rus|i ngcga| i |ariani m. Bu| hi hard| y u 4i hcd
in rcdchni ngcqua| i | yas`cqua| conccrn|ora| | ` |Dworki n2000 . |orthi
is on| ypa| rna| i sm. Lquah| yi no|a good |o b di pcns d |rom abovc.
i |i . |h ba i c|rai to| .oci a| r | auon. among|hcci |i z n. o|adcmocracy.
Thc idcao|au|hori tari an orpa|crna| i | cqua| i |y is anoxymoron.
Un| i kcconscr a| i cs,progrcssi vc|hi nk r rcgardcqua| i tyand| ibcrty
asd pcndi ngupononcano|h r.|npart i cu| ar whcr a. | i b ra|dcmocra|
ho|d |ha| | i bcr| yi. aprccondi ti ono|cqua| i ty,soci a| i s| c| ai m |ha| on| y
cqua| i ty can guarantcc | i b r|y. | submi t t ha| cach o|th sc vi cws ha a
grain o| |ru|h, |or nci | hcro| thosc va| uc c.m bc rca| izcd wi |hou| |hc
o|hcr.| ndccd,| i bcr| yi ncc aryto cckcqua| i | y.andon|ycqua| i |ycan
prcvcn| |hcconccnt ra| i ono||rccdomina|cwhand . |n hor| .| i bcrt yand
cqua| i ty hou| dbc pursucdoi n| |y. How cr. thc pursui | o||hi orany
o|hcrpro-soci a| goa|a| sorcqui rc so| i dari tyra| hcr| han c| H shnc s. Thi
isobccauc noonccangc| any|hi ngi mpor|an|wi |hou| |hcdi si n|crcs|cd
a i |anc o|o|h r . |n hort,|h |rcnchr vo| ut ionari cso| | 78hadgo|
i | ba i ca| | yri gh| . Liberte e aLite, fralenz ile.
Lc| U ' now | ack| c|h | hi rd i |cm in ouragcnda, nam |y |ratcrni | yor
so| i dari | y,tou cagcnd r-n u|ra|| rm.So| i dari ty.orconccrn|oro|hcr-
comcsin | hr cki nds.
1 . Horizontal, or both cooperati on and murual ai d am ng equal .
2. Top down, or pri vate chari t y and tate-, upported poor-rel i ef.
3. Bottom-lip, or corporate "vel fare: the pri i leges al l otted a manu
facturers. petrol eum and pharmaceut i cal compani es. and others. at the
taxpayer' expen e.
Top-down chari | yi o|cour a vi r|uccxto| | cd byboth atho| i ci . m
and L | am and i | go s |rom a| ms-gi vi ng |o |hc admi rab| | argc-sca|c
work donc by omc |ounda|i ons, |o t hc mod r r |i | s|a|c u ua||y
alue and Morals 101
ca| | cd wc| |arc sta|c.` 1 usc |hc nco|ogi m ' bo||om-up o| i dari | y` wi th
|oncuc in chcck. | | i nc| udcs |hc hugc mi | i |aj and admi ni s|ra|i vc cx-
pcnscs i ncurrcdbya| | cmpi rc |opaci |y| hcnat i c o|thcsubcc|cd
|and. , t axbrcak | ooi | compani c , ub i di c. gi vcn |ophamaccu|i ca|
compani cs to c|| prc.cri p| i on dru |o .cni or , and morc. In a good
oci c| y on| y hori zon| a| so| i dari ty, t ha| i , coopcra|i on, .hou| dcoun| .
Thi s i what makc ur i a| i nhan|y|own. po si b| c0omni |z | 77) ,
and wha| cxp| ai n | hcr si | i cncc o|| hc1wi h pcop|c. | roni ca| | y |hc
ghc||osi mposcdby|hcChri |i ansrci n|orccd o| i dari|yby|orci ng1cw
|o| i vc c| bow-|o-c| bow.
Thcsi tco|horizon|a|so| idari |yis|hcci i | ocic|y. Thi s i aco| | cct i on
o|vo| untaryassoci a|i on -|ron |oodbank and mu| ua| -ai d '0 i c| i csto
po| i ti ca| part i cs-|ha|i n|cnd|oci thcr upp| cmcn|orcri |i ci zc|hcgovrn-
mcn|. Lv ry advanccdcountry i nc| udcsa |rong i vi | ocic|y. Bccausc
|h GO ci vi | -soci c|yorgani zat i on. gov rnthcm. | csandpcr|orm
oci a| |unc|i ons. |hcy ar sccn di hcrcn| | y by po| i | i ci ans o|di || rcn|
|ri pc. . Thc nco- | i b ra| who ar an| i -ta|c wou| d | i kc |o |rans| r a| |
|h oci a| . rvi ccs|ochari tab| ci ns|i tuti on. -t h poi n|so|| i ght` onc
r |crrcd|ocryp| i ca| | yby| h hrs||rc i dcnt Bush. t hcywou| da| 0 | ikcto
|ar corcvcnharass|hcassoci a|i ons, . ucha |hcAm rican i i| Libcr-
| i c Union Amncs|y| n|crnati ona| and cvcn at i ona| |ub| i cRadi o,tha|
arcthorn ont hci r i dc.
Bycon|ra t , thcc| a
.
ica| au|hori |ari ans, whounhkc | hc tradi ti ona|
conscrva|i vcsarc |a| i s| , advoca|cci |hcrdc |royi ng| hc ci vi | ocicty
orcapturi ng i | . Onco|| hc mos| ucccss|u| cap| urc opcra| i on wa |hc
|undaci n yuda Soci a| , ac|i vc in Argcn| ina |rom | 48 | o | 55. and
run| i | | hcrdca|hby Ivi|a|crn |hcpr id n| wi |c. Thi hari tyga
handou|s o| many ki nd . |rom ca h |o wi ng machi n , |o whocv r
cou| dprovcbo|hnccdandpo| i |i ca| | oya| |y.| | wa. |undcdby4 vo| un| ary
con|ribu| i on |rom| aborunion .pub| i ccmp| oy andbu i ncs m n.and
run by | h |a|ci nc| udi ng | h o| di cr |ha|| ran por|cd and dc| i vcrcd
| h gi |t . Tha| |ounda|i on` sai ms wcrc |o | urn |hc poori n|o upp| i can|
i ncxchangc |or otc .
Duri ng|hcsamcp ri od|hc|crongovcmmcn| gavc|hcdomc'i ca|cd
| aboruni onsa | argcnumbcro||argcandwc| | -| oca|cdbui | di ngs. whcrc
| hcyi n ta| |cdrc|i rcmcn|homcs. c|i ni c . ho| i dayhotc| , and othcrc tab-
| i hmcn|s. |oru c o||hc uni onmcmbcr and|hci r|ami |i c . |t wa rarc|or
| hcbcnc| ciaric no|to upport|hcru| i ngpowcr-c. g. ,byat|cndi ngparty
ra| | i csandabs|ai n|roms|ri ki ng. | n shor| anauth ri |ari an- popu| i s|g v-
crn mcn|may hi ack i vi | oci c|y| oconvcr|ci ti zcnsi n|o upp| i can| .
1 02 Political Philosophy
Lc|u. now wi |chhomchari |ya a. oci al con|ro| |oo||ocoopcrati on
asa|oo||or|rccdom i n| hccn c o| c| |-go cmancc. Coopcra|i on i o|
coursc dc. i rab|c |o carry ou|any co| | cc|i c cndcavor, no|on| yamong
pcop| c bu| a|0 amon cu. oci a| i n cc|s, ravcn hycna chi mpanzcc ,
ando|hcrani ma| . Thi s i why i | i | i kc| y |ha| pcop| chavc coopcra|cd
|rom|hc bcgi nni ng. o|our spcci c. . in ca|hcri ng, scavcngi ng, hun| i ng,
dc|cndi ng|hci r|crri|ory andsoon.
Andyc| mos| vo| u|i onaryp ycho| ogi | and conomi tshav |ound
cooprati on paradoxi ca| bc au c i | i nvo| vcs co. |s |o |h i ndi i dua| .
Thcrc|orc|hcyhavc ons|ru |cd i ngcni ou bu| un|c |ab|chypo|hc cs to
accoun||or|h pcr auvcoccurrcnc o|coop ra|ion( cc c. g. , Bus 2004 .
Apparcnt| y|hyhavcnci |hcrhcardaboutmora| cn| imcn| norp r|onncd
aco t-bcnch | ana| y i o|coop rati oncomparcd|ocompc|i | i on. ci thcr
o|| hci r|h ori c cxp|ai n coop rat i on. |npar| icu| ar. ki n | c|i onthcory
doc. not cxp| ai n coop ra|i on among gcn | i cahy unrc|a| d i ndi vi dua|
such as spouscs. |ri cnd. , coworkcr. so| di cr. , and |c| | ow o| un|ccr.
i n GO . . And rcci proa| a||rui sm t| .cra|ch yourbacki|you scra|ch
mi nc)doc no|accoun| |or|hcgcnui ncgcncro. i |y a|work i n o| untary
orcani za|i on. orcv n in |hc s|rc |. A r a on |or| hi s|ai | urc i. |ha| |hc
|hcory i cnorcs |h cxi . |cncc o|mora| cmo|i ons .uch as mpa|hy and
sympa|hy | udi cdbythcyoungAdamSmi thasw | | asthcnccd |or
o|hcr-rcgardi ngbchavi ori nany oci a| group.
On |hc po i | i vc i dc, rcccnt cxpcri mcn| hav hown |ha| o|hcr-rc-
gardi ngbchavi or,i npar| icu| arcoopcra| i on, i pcr a i c, no| u | among
co| | cgc | udcnt i n i ndu |ri a| i zcd oci c| i cs ( Gi n| i s ct a| . , cd . 2005 .
Thc c rcsu| | wcrc con|i rmcd by |our|ccn rc carchcr who pcr|ormcd
cxpcri m n| on | 762 adu| | samp| cd |rom | 5 di vcrsc popu| a| i on a|
di hcr n|| | o|dc | opmcnton|i di ||crcn|con|i ncn|s Hcnri ch |
a| . 206 . Thc subcc| cxhi bi tcda| trui ti cb havi or|o|hcpoi n| o|bci ng
wi | | i ng to admi ni |crco | | ypuni hm nt on sc| |i h bcha i or. Mor i n
Chap| r2, S c|i on | .
| n hor| xp ri mcn|ha |a| i |i d |hcccn|ra|dogmao| tandard cco-
nomi c|hcory |ha|a||human arc c| h h, hcncci ncapab|co|compassion
andcmpa|hy, a wc| | a borncncmi c o|cqua| i |y. Thi h ndi ng wou| d
not havc urpri cd Didcro|, Rou cau. orSmi | h. |or |hcy p|accd grca|
va| uc on oci a| cmo|i on |ong bc|orc i| wa di covcrcd |ha| wccanno|
hc| phavi ng |hcm bccau c wc arc born with a | i mbi c ys|cm. |hc organ
o|cmo| i on. Thc mora| |orpo| i | i ca| |hcori | shou| d bc obvi ou . S|op
aping|hc b |c|ccconomics|hc ry| ha|assumcspcop|c|obcpcr|cc|| y
|r c `ra| iona| ` andwc| | i n|ormcd a wc| | as sc| |i h andobscsscdwi th
alue and Morals 103
cconomi zi ng on o| idari | yand |o c. Sc |hc| ps | 75 |or ni | i ci m o|
| hi sf c|i on.
Howcvcr,bc|orc umpi n|o|hcconc| u i on|ha|so| i dari |yi a|tai nab| c
o cmi hton|hcp| anc|ary ca| c. | c| uspccka|ano|hcrpi ccco|cmpi ri ca|
data. Rcccn|cxpcri mcn| condu |cdon mcmbcr o|somco||hc mo. |
cga| i tari ancommuni | i c. , i ndi gcnou group in |apuaNcwGui nca,sug-
gc. | |ha| na|ura|
' uri l )
i t go 'rnane
Provi nce go ernance
Nali nal VCrIIUIICC
I ntrabloc peace & cooper.
W rid peace and peratiOIl
alue and Morals 1 21
Thcpub| i ccorpora|i oni sani ntcrcs| i ng hybri d asc. | npri nci p| ci | i s
| hccommonpropcr|yo|i | .harcho| dcr. bu|inprac|i ccc crycorpora|i on
i sdomi na|cdby |hc i ndi vi dua| or roup wi |h |hc| argc.| b| oc o|sharcs,
o||cn a ma| | |rac|i on o| |hc |o|a| . Bcsi dcs, |hc domi nant harcho| dcr
can i nHucnccthccorpora|ion ` |ra|cgy |houch no| it | ac|i c | c|a|onc
i| day-|o-dayopcra|i on, whi harci n|hchandso||hcmanaccra i |
hou| d bc. On| y oopcra|i c | nns arc sc| |-managcd, i n |hc .cn. c tha|
a| | |hci r mcmbcr arcco-owncr andhavcani npu|onmanagcmcnt. so
|ha||hcgap bc|w n own r hi pandmanagcmcn|i |arsma| | cr|han i n
| hccasco| |h api|a| i | corpora|i on. Wc ha| | rc|urn | o| hi i n|hc | a |
chap|cr.
A| hr | igh| |hccommoni n|crc | o|a| argcp| ura| i | y t n mu |bc
cx|rcmc| yrcdu cdbccausco|i | di vcrsi|y.| ubmi | t ha||h imi s|akcn,
and|hat|hcmitakcari : |ron | ooki ngon|ya|po| i |i ca| i n|crcs| .|cacc
and n i ronmcn|a| protcc| ionarcinthci ntcrcs|o|thcovcrwhc| mi ngma-
ori | yo||hcci | i zcnso|amodcrnna|i on. and. 0 arccconomi cc|| ci ncy.
|or ign | radc, sci cn|i hc and tcchno| oci ca| advanc m nt. cood pub| i c
hca| th and cduca|i on ys|cms, adcquat pro|cc|i on o||hc ar| , and 0
on and .0 |or| h. Ti nydcmocra|i cA|hcnscarcdno|on| y|ori |s|crri |ori a|
i n|ccri |yandi |s|Icc|, buta| so|ori |st mp| cs s|a|uc | hca|rcs. andcvcn
p| aywri gh| . cvcryycari|ga cpri zc incash|o|hcbc |p| ay . Th morc
ad anccda oci c|y,thcri chcri| common i n| r | s.
6. Corruption and Crime
||i wc| | known|ha||hcpursui |o|pwcro|anykindcancorrup|ncar|y
cvcryonc and cvcry|hi ng. |n part i cu| ar. govcrnmcn| i corrup|cd whcn
p op| cbri bcpub| i crvan| u | |omo cah |c. Dcmocracyi cormp|cd
wh nvo|c arcbough| whcn| h ou| omc o|c| |i on dcpcndcri |i ca| | y
upon th amounto|mon y pcn| on campaigni ng wh n corporat i on
mak | arg dona| i on |oc| cc|ora| chcs| whcn ctor or hrm cngag
| obbyi |stop| ad|or| hci ri n|crc |
.
wh n | rm bribcburcaucra|og |
govcrnmcn|contract ,wh ncri mi na| buy u | i c | hroughrctai ni ng mar|
| awycr , whcn pric |s| hrca|cn |ocxcommuni ca|c|hcpari shi oncrswho
o|c|or|hcwrongpar|y,whcn|yi ng|o| hcpub| icgoc unpuni hcd-and
oonandso|orth. Nori corrup|i on| i mi |cd|o|hccconomi candpo| i |i -
ca| sphcrc . Lvcnpccrrcvi cw. |hc 'andardqua| i |y-con|ro| mcchani m
i n| hc acadcmic communi |y. i corrup|cd whcn u cd |orcward |ri cnds
puni h ri a| , s|rcng|hcnc| i qucs. orccn orhctcrodoxvi cws.
And yc| Samuc| Hunt i ng|on | . | hc wc| | -known Har ard
po| i to| ogi s| he |a|cd| ha|corrupti oni saw | c mc| ubri an|ca i ng|hc
1 22 Political Philosophy
pa|h|omodcrni za|i ona|hcsic harcdbysomcacadcmi cccononu |s.
Tchumanrigh| ac|ivi t maybgtodi ||cr.Thcyrcmcmbcr|hc i gcri an
s|roncman Gcncra| Sani Abacha,whohad wri |crKcn- aroWi vwaand
ci gh||c| | ow cnvi ronmcn|a| i . t cxccu|cd i n | 5. Thci rcri mchad bccn
wi th |i cht i ng|hc Shc| | - B| Oi | Companyagcncrou suppor|cr o||hc
di c|a|orhi p|or cvcrc| ypo| | u| i ng|hccr.t whi |c |crt i | c i gcrdc| |a.
|or|unatc|y omcsoci a| cicn|i s|,ucha GunnarMyrda| ,havcno|cd
|ha|cot:up|i oni ahi ndrancc|omodcrniza|ion.i|on|ybc au c orrup|ion
i sprcci sc| yonco|t h |rai |so|undcr-dvc| opmcn|. Somcai d agcnci
havdnounccd|ha|a| argc|rac|i on o|ai dmonys and goodsgo |o| i n
|h pockc| o|t yran|s. ( Mora| . Don` | scndmoncy or goods scndon| y
c pcr| |o hc| p producc, hca| . cduca|c orbui | d. | n r ccnt ycars c cn
|h Wor| d Bankhas dcnoun dcorrup|i on a|tcrha i ng suppor|cd |or
dccad : onup| govcmmcn| around |hc p| an t . And vcry ycarsi nc
| JTranparcncyI nt rnati ona| ha bccnpub| i shi ngi | sownranki ngo|
corrup| t a|c. . Accordi ng to i | , th c|can | Luropcan coun|ri arc |hc
Nordi conc , par| i cu| ar| y |i n| and. whcrca. Gr cc . I |a| y. and mo t o|
|hccx-Communi s|coun|ri s ar ncarth bo|tom.
Corrup|i ondc. |roysno| on| ycharactcrand|rus| . i | a| so harm | gi t i -
ma| bu i nc. . wcakcn. |h s|a|c,andcon. cqucn|| ygcncra| . cyni ci . m
andpo| i ti ca| apathy. Bc i dc , i npri va|i zi ngpub| i c crvi cc |hati s, i n
dcmandi ngbribc |or| hcmcorrupti onbrccd povcr|y Zuzowski2005 .
| nmany `dcvc| opi ng` .mdcx-communi t count ri ccorrupti oni ocom-
mon. thatbrib arcrcgardcdasnorma| i ncomcsupp|cmcnt andth on| y
c||i ci cnt mcchani m |orgctti ng anythi ng donc. |urthcr. paradoxi ca| |y,
i n uch oci cti csbri bry isnow amcanstochcatcqua| i ty, now thcon| y
way|ocx|rac||ai r|r a|mcnt |rom pub| i c crvant .
I n|cr 4i ng| y, |h rc i ani nv r r | a|i onbc|wc ncorrup|i onandpar-
| i ci pa|i on |or|hc par|i i pan|own api cc o||hcacti onin tcado|bci ng
a| i n |oi t . andthcrc|orc i no|i nci n d |ochca|hi m | |. Th cvi d nc
|ha| |hi i o i th hndi ng |ha| corrup|i on i hi ghc t i n hi rarchi ca|
soci a| y|cm and oci | i c , whi ch ar |ypi ca| | y opaqu and | owcs|
i n oca| y |cm and soci cti c whcrc thc rank and | |c ha c accc s to
|hcruddcr o|powcr. uchas ma| | munici pa| i t i c andpro|c iona|and
cu| |ura|associ a| i on .
A Robcrt |u|nam | J |amou |y no|cd by contra | to Northcrn
| |a| y. Sou|hcrn | |a| y is charac|cri zcdby bo|h |ow ci ic vi r|ucand hi gh
conup| i on. Thcroo| o|| hi s i t ua| i ongobackoncmi | | cnni um, whcn|hc
Norman i nva ion i mpor|cd |rcnch-s|y| c |cuda| i m i n| Sou|hcrn | | a|y.
Thc| andcdari | cracyand |hc tatc i| crvcdprcvcn|cd|hatrcgi n |rom
alue and Morals 123
p.tni ci pati ng i n |hc Rcnai ssancc |hc | ndu tri a| Rc o| ut i on. .md cvcn
|hc Ri ori mcn|o |hat |hc rct ot |hc coun|ry cnoycd |o| | owi nc i ndc-
pcndcncc. Thc undcr| yi n. oci a| mcchani mscxp| ai n|hc South- orth
di ||crcncc . | n|hcrcpub| i canNor| h, pcop| c ouch| |oso| vc | oca| i suc
by dcbat i ng | gh| i ng, and oopcra| i ng, whcrca in |hc |cuda| Sou|h
|hcycxchangcd|avors wi |h |hcpowcr|u| . |ori ns|ancc c cnnowadays
|hc Sou|hcm pri cs|, po| i ti ci an, orma| a bo ob|ai n pri vi |cgcs |orhi
c| i cnt i ncxchangc|orobcdi cncc, conp| i ci ty, vo|cs. orpar| i ci pa|i oni n
pub| i cccrcmoni c .Thci |i zcni | rans|oncdi n|oa upp| i cant. .md|hc
poh|i ca| i n | i | u|i ons ar bypa d. Th Sou|h-Nor|h contras| i hown
i n|hc|o| | owi ngdi agram.
North
South
Rcpub| i an - Richc ivi c-nss- L||cc|i vc indi |u|i on
|cuda|- |oorc ivi c- ncss- | nchcc|i c i ns| i t uti ons
on|cmporary cxamp| c o|thcdi scngagcmcnto|| hc ci | i zcnry |rom
|h po| i | yarcAtghani |an, ongo | raq, |a| . |i nc Soma| i a andHait i .
A| | hi . wri | i ng nonco| |h . coun|ri c has i |hcran c||cc|i vc tat or a
nctwork o|vo| un|aryand .ccu| arassoci a|i on , and wha| | i t|| h |p |hci r
ci |i zcn. gct ar handout |rom war| ord or parami | i tary-cum-chari |y
organi za| i on .
Howcvcr.| hcmo | cn a| i ona|rcccntcasc o|corrup|i on. bo| hpo| i | i -
ca|andcorpora|c havcbccn ccni n uchhi gh| ydcvc| opcdcoun| ri c a
| hc Uni | cd S|a|c . |nmcc. | |a| y. andRu i a. Thci n| i ma| rc| a|i on hi ps
bctwccn high| yp|accdAmcri cano|| ccr .md bi g comp.mi c | ikc Ha| -
| i burton. or|ormcrcompani cs | ikc Lnron. havcbccomcprovcrbi a| . So
ha t h hug campai gn hc t rcqui r d|orun|oro|| c i n|ha|coun|ry.
| n ap| u|ocracy, pow r|o| | ow moncy. In i| mon y i |or|hcpo| i | i ci an
what dopc i |or | hc ath| |c. | | a| | ow hi m to gc| ahcad o| |h oth r
r gard|c o|mcri |.
Wh n i | bccomc wi d prcad and d p| y roo|cd i n |hc cu| |urc o|a
p op| c corrupt ion ca| | |or po| i | ica| agi |a|i on gra -roo| campai gn
| rongudi ci a| mca urcs,andabovca| | thc cmcrgcncco|c|canpo| i|i ca|
|orccs app a| i ng |o thc mora| rcvu| si on o|p| ai n ci | i zcn . Rcgrcttab| y
rc|orm00 cmcnt andpar|i c arc|ypi ca| |y hort -| i vcd.Thus. thc|amous
mani puliti ( c|canhands t ri a| i n| ta| yi nthccar|y | 0 di crcdi tcdand
dc t roycd|hctwo mai n ru| i ngpart i c , bu|thc c wcrc quick|y rcp| accd
byancwa| | i ancc,cqua| | ycorruptbu|bc||crorgani zcdand|undcdbythc
mai nb nchci aryo||hcc rrup|i on andyc|vo|cdt hri c|orpri mcmi ni s-
|crbyha| | | hcc| cct ratc. | n |hccnd. | hcwca|| hi |crooki nt hccoun|ry
1 24 Political Philosophy
bca| 1udg An| oni oDi |i c|ro |h mora|hcro o||hc ycar. To paraphrasc
1c||cr.on |hc pricc o|pub| i chonc. |y i sc|crna| vi i | ancc.
No|c|ha|corrup|i on, | i kc i r|uc, i pcr ona| . Bu| , u| | i kc i r|uc. cor-
rup|i oncansprcad|hroughou|agrouporc cnancn|i rcsoci c|y bccauco|
ci |hcrnccdorrccdaccompani cdbyoppor|uni |y. Whcnmanymcmbcr.
o|a.oci a| croupchca| . c adc|axcs, |akcorgi vcbri bcs, cmbczz|cpub| ic
|unds, a| | owpub| i ccompani c |o| obby|hcgovcmmcn|, orcn|ru |pub| i c
works |o rc| a| i vsordonor |o|hcpar|y campai gn hcs| . i | i u 4i h-
ab|c| o| a| ko|groupcorrup|i on orcvcno|i ns| i |u|i ona| i z d orrup| ion.
Corrup|i on |hn bcom a po| i |i ca| i uc |ha| can on| y b |a k| d by
po| i | i a|ac|i on and. spcci h a| | y bysccki ngdcmocra| i za|i on.
A| i naMungi u-|i ppi di 200 |hcRomani anpo| i |i ca| icn|i | and uc-
cc |u| .m| i - onup|i onac|i i s| haspropocd,il i n|crc | i ng |ypo|ogyo|
|h conncc|i onbc|wccn orrup|i onand|hcdi s|ribu| i ono|poh|i ca| powcr.
J hav |akcn |h | i bcr|y o|| rans| a| i ng |h au|hor . unusua| cxprcs. i on.
` purcpar|icu| ari m. ` comp |i |i cpar|i cu| ari sm, ` and` uni vcrsa| i sm` i n|o
` au|ocracy,` ' o| i garchy ` and ` dcmocracy rcspcc| i vc| y. Hcr i. hcr|ab|c
i nmyownword. .
Regim POII' r " 011'11 r hip " Distribution Social Pllbliclpril'lue
Distrib/ltion { the tale ifvub/i at' eptabilit ' Distill ti n
'ood., ofcorrllptioll
Alllocrcy Monopoly One or few nfair but r"toderate No
prcdi table
ligor II ' ncven and 'Onl 'lcd nfair and Low V" ,
disputed unpredictable
D('motmc ' R ' l ati v ' l Auton m u air and Y 'ry 10 harp
equal predictable
|i na| | y docs orrup|i oncvcr|ou h|hcudi ci a| ys|cmIndccdi|o||cn
doc .Drugcart | .mdmahashavcbccnknown|obribc. i n| i tni da|c orki | |
udgcsand uri . B .i dcs, | h r arc| wo|cga| wayso|bcndi ngus| i cc.
Onci |orago cmmcn||opack| h udi ci arywi |hpo| i |i ca| appoi n|cc .
Thco|hcrmc|hodi s |obuygood| ga|advi cc.Thi i how whi |c-co| | ar
cri m ohcngounpuni shcd. AndA|ricanAmcricanmurdcrcr. arcabou|
| n | i m . morc | i kc| y|o b scn|cnccd |o dca| h| han |hci rWhi |c coun-
| rpar|s u. | bccau |hc|orm rcanno|a||ordcompc|cn|| cga| advi cc.
So, i n| hccnd. yc somc| i mc moncybuy u | i cc. Thi po csapo| i | i -
ca| . |cga| andmora| prob| cm|or| hc udi ci ary, bara oci a| i on GO
spcci ahzcdi n| cga| mat|cr . .md. o|cour c, po| i t i ca| part ics. Organi zcd
ci vi cvi gi | anccmayworkwhcrc i so| a|cd whi t | cb| owcrs|ai | .
alue and Morals 125
Howcvcr corrup|ioni. on| yoncki ndo|cri mc. | ndccd whc|hcrprivatc
orgovcmmcn|a| , cri mccomcsin c cra|ki nd and i zcs. Thc|o| | owi n
|ypc maybcdi| i ncui hcd Buncc 2006a) .
| . Environm "tal: agai ns||hcna| ura| oroci a|cnvi ronmcn|
a) |o| | u|i on
() Wan|ondc |ruct i on o|non-rcncwab|crcourccsorpub| ic
goods
2. Biologi 'af: agai ns| hca| thor | i |c
a Mcdi ca| quack ry ` a| |cmati cncdi ci nc` )
Sa| co|harn|u| orgrca|| y0 crpri ccdproduct
c A au| |
Tor| urc
Murdcr
Scxi sm
Raci m
L|hni c `c| can.i ng`
o| | cct ivcpuni hm nt
War
J. E onomi : agai n ,t propcrty
a SmaU- ca| | hc||
Vanda| i m
c Corporatc wi nd| c
Lmbczz| cmcn|
c Landgrab
4. Politi aL: agai n | po| i | i ca| cn mi
a ) L| c|ora||raud
tb I n| i midati on
c) Group- pon or d gra ro| | rrori m
d S|a|c|crrori sm
) War
5. ultura/: agai n | know| cdgcor ar|
(a ||agi ari m and |raud
( b) har|a|ani sm c. g. . po | modcrni m
( c | cudoci cncc( c. g. ` in|c| | i gcn|dc i gn ` )
( d) Dcccp| i c advcr|i i ng
(c Ha|c propaganda
| |) Idc | gica| ccnsorshi p
tg At | a k oncu| | ura| h ri|agc rorganizati n
1 26 Political Philosophy
Thc c arcon| yana| yt i ca| di t i nc|i on . | nrca| . ocia| | i |c vcry cri mc
o|a ccrtai n t ypc ( i . c. , wi |h a ccr|ai n coa| ) i u uahy accompani cd by
cri mc o|di hcrcnt|ypc. . |ori ns|ancc,murdcri . omcti mc. commi ||cd
as a mcan. |or | hc|| orpo| i t i ca| powcr. Andmi | i |ary acgrc i on i |hc
u| | i ma|c rimc. |or i| i a| oncc cn i ronmcn|a| , bi o| oci ca| , cconomi c,
po| i |i ca| , andcu| | ura| .
Cri mc po. c. i n|crc | i ng and di |f cu| | prob| cms tor po| i |i ci an and
po| i | i a| phi | osophcrs. car|y cvcryonc agrccs |ha| wc hou| d scck t o
dccrca c cri mi nahty. bu| |h r i noconscnsu onhow|o achicvc | hi
goa| .Tradi |i ona| i |sbc| i vc tha| ni mina| i |y i s i nborn.so|hata| | wcan
abou|i |doi|orcprc i |. Howcvcr,|h con cn usamongpsycho|ogi s| .
soci o| ogi |sand oci a| |cchno| ogi |s i |hat.cxccpt|ora|i ny|ra ti ono|
psychopa|h . ni mi na| arcmadc no|born. Hcncct hy ad oca| cri m
prc cn|i onand cri mi na| rccducat ionandrci nscrt i on i n ocity. Moron
|hi . i n hap|cr8. Scc|i on 6
7. Classical Moral Philo ophies
Lxccp||or Ni c|z ch . who dc.pi . cd | hi c. and Hci dccgcr who dc-
crccd i t i mpos i b| c c ryon admi t | hc nccd |or i | . I npart i cu| ar |hc
phi | o. ophica| corc o|any po| i | i ca| phi | o. ophy is a mora|phi | osophyor
c| hi c tha|is.a|hcoryo|mora| .Thcmo t popu| aro|a| | mora| phi | oso-
phi csarcrc| a| i vi sm, dcon|o|ogi sm, u| i | i |ari ani m,.mdcon|rac|ari ani sm.
Mora|r | a| i vi mho| d |ha|cvcry humangroupha i | own mora| codc
and|ha|n i |hcrcan b sai d |obc supcrior|o any o|hcr. Dcon|o|ogi sm,
advanccdbyCon|uci u andKan| s|a|c |ha|oncmu | dowhat i sri gh| .
U| | i |ari ani m. i n cn|cdbyC|audcHc| ct i u , ho| ds|hatwc hou| dpro-
curc|hcgrca|c |happi nc o||hcgr a| |numbcr.Andcon|rac|ari ani m
mai ntai n |ha|mora| i |y | i kcbu in i ama|tcro|con|ractagrccdupon
ra| i ona| | yand |or|hcmu| ua| bcn hto|thccon| rac| i ngpar| i .A| | |our
doc|ri nc arcsccu| ar.andcacho||h mcont ai n a a| i dgrai n. rc| a| i vi m
accoun| |or|hcp| ura| i |y o||ri ba|mora| i ti c .d on|o| ogi m |rc c du-
| i , u| i | i |ari ani m cmpha i z ri gh| , andcon|ra |ari ani m und r| i n
|hc advan|agcsi nkccpi ngonc` word. Howcvcr, wc ha| | arguc| ha| a| |
|hc c mora|phi | o ophic arco|hcrwi c Hawcd.
Mora| rc| a| i i m ha t wo componcnt . dc cri p|i c and norma| i vc.
Whcrcas|hc|ormcri corrcc|.| hc| a|| cri s no|. I n|ac|.cxp| orcr .an|hro-
po|ogi s| andsoci o|ogi |sdi covcrcdtha|di ||crcn|t ri bcs oci c|i c . and
cvcnpro|cs i ona|group havcdi ||crcn|mora|norm .Bu|| hcpropcr|a k
o|mora|phi |os phy. r | hi cs i di ||crcnt|r m|ha|o|s ci a| sci cncc. |hc
|ormcr` si |oana| yzcandcri | i ca| | y xami ncm ra|norms. ||i onc| hi ng
alue and Morals 127
|orcpr||hataccr|ai ntrib practi ccshcadc hri nki ng andanothcr|oi ndi c|
| hi sprac|i ccascri mi na| . Agai n, obcc| i ngtoccr|ai n mora| nom . i no|
|hc amca. condcmni ncus|oms| ha| wcf nduncongcni a| tormora| i ty
i sabou|conduc||hat may bcncf torharmo|hcr ,hcnccacti ons|hatcan
bcc a| ua|cdobcc| i c|y. Whcncc,wcrccc|Mi | |on|ricdman | 6.. | 2
advi ccto `|cavcthcc|hi ca| prob| cm|or|hci ndi vi dua| |owrc
t| cwi |h.
A| | mora|codc howcvcrdi |tcrcnt, harc omcnorms. But , whcrca
| radi |i ona| oci c|i c prcscri bcpro oci a| mora| )bha i orcx | u iv|y|or
mcmbcrso||hci r |ri bc orna| i on vcr i nc |hc Ln| i gh| nm n|w ha c
|cndcdtod tuandmora| uni v r a| i |y on thc ground|ha|a| | humansarc
ba i ca| | ycqua| . or a| |cas| hou|dbc |rca|cd cqui tab| y. I no|h r words,
wcadop| r|ai ncodcso|bchavi or whi | crccc| i ngo|h r.byconpari ng
|hcm wit h|hc ba ic humanri gh|s.
Thus |hcUni vcr a| Dcara|i ono|HumanRigh|s | 48) i thcgrav,
yardo|mora|r | at i vi m. AsBobbio( | 0)wro|c,|hatwas| h | r || i m
i nhi story |ha| uni vcra| agrccmcn|wasr achcd on any a| ucsy t m.
|romt hcnon p op| havc b cn condcmni ngccr|ai npract i ccs sucha
capi ta| puni shmcn|and|or| urc no| us| a. barbaricandi nc|f ci cnt. bu|
a| soasvi o| a| i ngth basichumanrigh|s n. hri ncdi nadocumcnttorma| | y
ub cri bcdbya| | na|i ons. Wha|ho| d
m, bccau c
i | ab o| ut i zc |hc|awo||hc| and. |rom | 48 on wccancva| ua| cvcry
i ng| cpi ccco|| cgi | a|i onasbci ngobcct i v |y us|or un us| accordi ng
a i | matchc or vi o| a| hum.m ri ght