The game of justice : a theory of individual self-government / Ruth Lane.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lane, Ruth, 1935-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Justice.

Democracy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (218 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Game of Justice argues that justice is politics, that politics is something close to ordinary people and not located in an abstract and distant institution known as the State, and that the concept of the game provides a new way to appreciate the possibilities of creating justice. Justice, as a game, is played in a challenging environment that makes serious demands on the participants, in terms of self-knowledge and individual self-government, and also in terms of understanding social behavior. What the term game provides is a radical opening of all established institutions: the status quo is neither absolute nor inevitable, but is the result of past political controversy, a result created by the winners to express their victory. At the same time, the game of justice, like all games, is played over and over again, with winners and losers changing places over time. This serves as encouragement to past losers and provides a cautionary reminder to past winners.

Contents:

Prologue: Politics, democracy, and the game of justice

Pitkin's dilemma : the wider shores of political theory and political science

Political society : a blind spot in the liberal field of vision

Standing aloof from the state : Thoreau on self-government

Wittgenstein's games : the philosophy and practice of justice

Foucault's justice : agent-centered theory and the game position

Rousseau on self-government : the late individualist model of the promeneur solitaire

Epilogue: Politics, strategy, and the game of justice.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-201) and index.

ISBN:

9780791480236

0791480232

9781429471480

1429471484

OCLC:

140243964