Mendus, Susan
Politics and Morality
Beginning with an account of integrity as involving a willingness to stand by ones most fundamental moral commitments, the author discusses three reasons for thinking that politics undermines integrity and is incompatible with morality. These are: the relationship between politics and utilitarian 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 morally good.
Written with verve and clarity, this book provides students and general readers an accessible guide to the philosophical debates about the complex relationship between politics and morality in the contemporary world.
Keywords: politics; feature; disenchantment; key; public; world; politicians; suspicion; distrust; electoral; continues; modern democracies; many; fall; towards; contempt; representatives; morally; hands; good; loss; dirty; integrity, Political Philosophy & Theory, Political Philosophy & Theory
- Author(s)
- Mendus, Susan
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
- Publication year
- 2010
- Language
- en
- Edition
- 1
- Series
- Themes for the 21st Century
- Page amount
- 144 pages
- Category
- Society
- Format
- Ebook
- eISBN (ePUB)
- 9780745654454
- Printed ISBN
- 9780745629681