Politics and morality / Susan Mendus.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mendus, Susan.

Series:

Themes for the 21st century

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political ethics.

Physical Description:

viii, 130 pages ; 20 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA : Polity, 2009.

Summary:

Public disenchantment with politics has become a key feature of the world in which we live. Politicians are increasingly viewed with suspicion and distrust, and electoral turnout in many modern democracies continues to fall. But are we right to display such contempt towards our elected representatives? Can politicialns be morally good, or is politics destined to involve' dirty hands' or the loss of integrity, as many modern phisopners claim? in this book, susan Medus seeks to address these important questions to assess whether this apprent tension between morelity and politics is real, and if so, why.

Beginning with an account of integrity as involving a willingness to stand by one's most fundamental moralo commitments, the author discussess three reasons for thinking that politics undermines integrity and is incompatible with morality. These are: the relationship between politics and utlitarian calculation; the possibility that the realm of politics is a separate realm of value and the difficulty of reconciling the demands of different social roles. She concludes that, in the modern world, we all risk losing our integrity. To that extent, we are all 'politicians.' Moreover, we have reason to be glad that politicians are not always mlorally good.

Written with verve and clarity, this book provides students and general readers with an accessible guide to the philosophical debates about the complex relationship between politics and morality in the contemporary world.

Contents:

1 Integrity 14

2 Political Integrity 37

3 Integrity and Utilitarianism 57

4 Integrity and Pluralism 78

5 Integrity and Social Roles 96.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0745629679

9780745629674

0745629687

9780745629681

OCLC:

144559274