Thesis
Political pragmatism and the liberal-communitarian debate
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2012
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/102727
Abstract
This thesis examines the liberal-communitarian debate in political philosophy in relation to a pragmatist liberalism rooted in the political theory of John Dewey. I argue that Dewey’s liberalism is superior to both the deontological liberalism of John Rawls and Michael Sandel’s communitarianism in at least two ways: first, Dewey’s liberalism is normatively superior to both deontological liberal and communitarian approaches in that it is more consistent with liberal democratic principles. I argue that this is because through his principle of reciprocity Dewey strikes a balance between the individual and the border social order that is absent in both Rawls’ and Sandel’s accounts; second, I argue that Dewey’s emphasis on experience, knowledge and practical problem-solving makes his liberal philosophy one that has the capacity to serve as a basis for a non-normative political theory that can be applied to real-world political problems.
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Details
- Title
- Political pragmatism and the liberal-communitarian debate
- Creators
- Rick Davis
- Contributors
- Matt Stichter (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525029001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis