Aristotle's Introduction to the Problem of Happiness: On Book I of the Nicomachean Ethics

The study of Book I of the Nicomachean Ethics is useful today in part because it deals with a question—the nature of human happiness—whose relevance is obvious. But in dealing with that question, Book I compels us to raise difficulties for ourselves that, far from being obvious, are in danger of being forgotten. Chief among these difficulties are, first, the true character of our hope for happiness and, ultimately, the necessity of there being a kind of divine providence if that hope is to be realized. Inasmuch as we still long for happiness, we must still undergo the pull of that necessity, however distant it may appear to us to be. In bringing out our deepest concern in this way, the study of the first book of the Ethics also prepares us to become serious students of Aristotle's "philosophy of human matters" as a whole, which is concerned with the reality of providence because it is concerned with the possibility of philosophy as a way of life.     

Intuitive Ethics and Political Orientations: Testing Moral Foundations as a Theory of Political Ideology

Originally developed to explain cultural variation in moral judgments, moral foundations theory (MFT) has become widely adopted as a theory of political ideology. MFT posits that political attitudes are rooted in instinctual evaluations generated by innate psychological modules evolved to solve social dilemmas. If this is correct, moral foundations must be relatively stable dispositional traits, changes in moral foundations should systematically predict consequent changes in political orientations, and, at least in part, moral foundations must be heritable. We test these hypotheses and find substantial variability in individual‐level moral foundations across time, and little evidence that these changes account for changes in political attitudes. We also find little evidence that moral foundations are heritable. These findings raise questions about the future of MFT as a theory of ideology.     

Political Ethics and Public Policy: Homosexuals between Moral Dilemmas and Political Considerations in Danish Parliamentary Debates

Political science has abundantly proved that politics involves power, conflict, and self-serving interests. Much less frequently does political science deal with ethics in public policymaking. This article analyses the appeal to moral principles in the political process of drafting three bills, all concerning homosexuals, in which the Danish parliamentary parties, in contrast to normal practice, allowed their members to deviate from the party line and vote in accordance with their 'conscience'. Analysis of the cases indicates that moral considerations are capable of structuring and constraining arguments and that they are decisive for some politicians' positions in some situations. The cases also raise doubts concerning the widely held view that decisions based on votes of conscience, because they are informed by 'ethical' rather than 'political' considerations, are qualitatively superior to ordinary political decisions.

MANKIND
Men, said the Devil,
Are good to their brothers:
They don't want to mend
Their own ways, but each other's.
– grook by Piet Hein

     

Corruption, Reform, and Virtue Ethics

Books reviewed in this article:
Gerald E. Caiden, O.P. Dwivedi, and Joseph Jabbra (eds.), Where Corruption Lies
Susan Rose-Ackerman, Corruption and Government: Causes, Consequences, and Reform
Peter Kobrak, Cozy Politics: Political Parties, Campaign Finance, and Compromised Governance
Raymond J. Devettere, Introduction to Virtue Ethics: Insights of the Ancient Greeks     

The Limits of Political Citizenship

Policy makers tend to focus on the extension of citizenship as the primary means by which new populations become incorporated into a society. Although acquiring formal citizenship is necessary in order to participate in many aspects of a state's civic, social, and political life, the extension of legal citizenship is far from a guarantee for full membership. Instead of focusing exclusively on naturalizing immigrants, we need to consider T.H. Marshall's three spheres of citizenship—the civil, political, and social. By extending social elements of citizenship prior to or at the same time as we extend other benefits, we will move towards more complete citizenship for and greater civil and political engagement among all residents in our society—non-citizens, naturalized, and native-born, alike.

中国伦理传统的“德治”与“治德”

自周初德治主义的萌芽至汉朝中国伦理传统“德治”模式的确立，其间历经管仲以法为主的德法结合论、孔子的以德治国论、荀子的礼法并重论等治国理论。然而，基于批判秦朝“法治”实践发展起来的汉朝治国模式，在“罢黜百家、独尊儒术”的背景下走向了纯伦理化的“德治”。与之相应，其培养“德治”主体道德素质的“治德”范式呈现为片面的伦理型特征。自汉至清历朝历代由盛而衰的“德治”循环实践证明：伦理型“治德”前提下的“德治”陷入了“德治”悖论。化解“德治”悖论，实现国家长治久安的选择是全面认识、借鉴吸收先秦时期诸子百家的治国理论及其“治德”范式，促进“治德”的伦理制度化。     

Hayekian Political Economy and the Limits of Deliberative Democracy

Inspired by Habermasian critiques of liberalism, supporters of deliberative democracy seek an extension of social democratic institutions to further a reinvigorated communicative rationality against the 'atomism' of market processes. This paper offers a critique of deliberative democratic theory from a Hayekian perspective. For Hayek, the case against the social democratic state rests with the superior capacity of markets to extend communicative rationality beyond the realm of verbal discourse.     

政治市场理论的局限

多元主义民主理论与公共选择理论以市场逻辑分析政治现象,把政治空间市场化,两大理论为政治研究提供了许多有启发性的分析,也包含着某些不当的规范性含义,可能消解公共利益的概念。     

The Moral Community and Immigration

In “Which American Dream Do You Mean?” David Stoll never justified his assumption that Guatemalans who want to immigrate to America have a moral claim on our attention. The “conversation” he describes really involves only Americans as only they are held responsible for immigration. Some advocates justify immigration on the basis of rights while others appeal to compassion, but both assign all responsibility to rich Americans and none to the sending societies. A huge moral asymmetry separates the West, which is assumed capable of achieving civic values from the non-West, which is not. Americans hunger for a more candid conversation about how to distribute the responsibility for immigration. That is essential to legitimizing immigration policy and preserving the civic character of American society.     

The Moral Imaginary of Discourse Ethics

Abstract

The central claim of this essay is that Habermas' pro gram of discourse ethics fails to establish the necessary immanent connection between the universality of discourse ethics and the quasi-transcendentalism, which is supposed to provide its ground. Habermas' attempt to avoid the spectre of subjectivism leads him to develop an understanding of universalism that hinges on a critical error, the confusion of subjectivity with ethical sub stance. Using Castoriadis' theory of the imagination to illuminate this failure, I demonstrate the way in which Habermas' moral theory of discourse inadvertently harbours a moral-imaginary horizon, a pre-political kernel which undercuts its capacity to serve as a universalist ethic.     

Patience as a Political Virtue: Delayed Gratification and Turnout

A number of scholars have demonstrated that voter turnout is influenced by the costs of processing information and going to the polls, and the policy benefits associated with the outcome of the election. However, no one has yet noted that the costs of voting are paid on or before Election Day, while policy benefits may not materialize until several days, months, or even years later. Since the costs of voting must be borne before the benefits are realized, people who are more patient should be more willing to vote. We use a “choice game” from experimental economics to estimate individual discount factors which are used to measure patience. We then show that patience significantly increases voter turnout.

公民伦理与公职人员的思想道德建设

国家公职人员中存在的腐败现象有着深刻的历史文化背景。中国社会几千年封建专制历史所形成的"差序格局"中的熟人社会交往方式,对当前的公职人员的工作与处事方式有着根深蒂固的影响。西方社会中影响深远广泛的是"契约论"精神,形成了分权制衡的格局,有利于公民权力空间的成长。当前中国社会经济的发展促成了公民社会的逐步形成,中国传统的伦理观念已难以适应公共交往领域,治理公职人员的腐败行为要大力培养民众的公民意识,尤其公职人员自身的公民意识和公民伦理道德观念,从而保障国家和政府职能的正当行使和公民权益的实现。     

警察道德建设中的制度伦理和伦理制度

加强警察道德建设,一方面我们要为提升警察道德水平提供合理正当公正的制度安排;另一方面我们要进一步完善警察道德规范体系,使之进一步制度化。     

Political and institutional determinants of fiscal policy in the European Community

In recent theoretical and empirical research the variation in political and institutional arrangements which may affect the process of national policy formation is examined, in order to explain cross-country differences with respect to fiscal policies pursued. In this paper we build upon this literature and examine whether and how cross-country differences in debt accumulation and public sector size of Member Countries of the European Community during the 1980s can be explained. We conclude that the growth of government debt is positively related to the frequency of government changes and negatively to sound budgetary procedures. In countries with left-wing governments the growth of the share of government spending in total output generally tends to be higher.     

The Problem of Political Science: Political Relevance and Scientific Rigor in Aristotle's “Philosophy of Human Affairs”

Treatments of Aristotle's moral‐political science have largely disregarded the methodological statements that he delivers as he embarks on his “philosophy of human affairs” in book I of the Nicomachean Ethics. A consideration of these statements, however, lends critical support to the view that Aristotle sought to give the sharpest possible expression to ordinary moral‐political opinion. Moreover, apart from revealing the by‐no‐means ordinary reasons that induced Aristotle to do so (and to do so in contrast to Plato), such a consideration sheds light on the source of the vagueness or ambiguity that defines moral‐political opinion as such. Indeed, the methodological statements are perhaps the first entries in the old quarrel of “relevance versus rigor.” And, through them, Aristotle suggests how political scientists today might walk a fine line between “politics,” on one hand, and “science,” on the other, without losing sight of the ultimate tension between them.     

Moral Pluralism, Political Justification and Deliberative Democracy

We can make progress in political justification if we avoid debates about the extent of moral pluralism. Just by having a political view we are committed to its realization but also to its defence upon justifying grounds. It would be inconsistent to seek to realize my view in ways that undermined my ability to justify it. Yet justifying a view implies that I am open to challenges to it, and that perpetually draws me potentially into dialogue with all others, regardless of my will, and into structures which allow an inclusive dialogue to take place, with decisions being made, on the basis of open public discussion, with which I may disagree. Thus a form of deliberative democracy, probably with representative institutions, is justified, without any normative assumptions being made.