Ethical Frontiers of the State: An Essay in Political Philosophy PDF
Preview Ethical Frontiers of the State: An Essay in Political Philosophy
ETHICALFRONTIERS OFTHESTATE Also byA.J.M.Milne FREEDOM ANDRIGHTS HUMANRIGHTS ANDHUMANDIVERSITY THERIGHTTODISSENT THESOCIALPHILOSOPHYOFTHEENGLISHIDEALISTS Ethical Frontiers of the State An Essay in Political Philosophy A. J. M. Milne EmeritusProfessorofPoliticalTheory andInstitutions UniversityofDurham palgrave macm illan First publishedinGreatBritain1998by MACMILLANPRESSLTD Houndmills,Basingstoke,HampshireR021 6XSandLondon Companiesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. ISBN978-1-349-26196-3 ISBN978-1-349-26194-9(eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-26194-9 FirstpublishedintheUnitedStates ofAmerica1998by ST.MARTIN'SPRESS,INC., ScholarlyandReferenceDivision, 175FifthAvenue,NewYork, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-17722-4 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Milne, A.J.M.(AlanJohn Mitchell), 1922.... Ethicalfrontiersofthestate:anessay inpoliticalphilosophy /AJ.M.Milne. p. em. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-0-312-17722-4(cloth) 1.Politicalethics. 2.Socialethics. 3.State,The. I.Title. JA79.M55 1997 172-DC21 97-21578 CIP <t>A.J.M.Milne 1998 Softcoverreprintofthe hardcover1stedition1998 Allrights reserved.Noreproduction,copyortransmissionofthispublicationmaybemade withoutwritten permission. No paragraph ofthis publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions ofthe Copyright, Designs and PatentsAct f988, or underthe terms ofany licencepermittinglimitedcopyingissuedby theCopyrightLicensingAgency,90TottenhamCourtRoad, LondonWIP9HE. Any person who does any unauthorisedact inrelationtothis publicationmay be liable to criminalprosecutionandcivilclaimsfordamages. The author has assertedhis right tobe identifiedas the authorofthis work in accordance withtheCopyright,DesignsandPatents Act 1988. Thisbookisprintedonpapersuitableforrecyclingand madefromfullymanagedand sustainedforestsources.Logging,pulpingand manufacturingprocessesareexpected toconformtothe environmentalregulationsofthe countryoforigin. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 To Susan Milne Contents Aclawwledgements x IDtroduction I.l Philosophy and its subject matter 1.2 Reasons for startingwith T.H. Green - on the plan ofthisbook 7 Part I The Conunon Good The Common Good and T. H. Green's Ethical Theory 17 1.1 Exposition ofGreen's Ethical Theory 17 1.2 Criticism ofGreen's ethical theory: on the idea of 'good' and its varieties 23 1.3 Criticism continued: the common good and the social good 29 1.4 Criticism continued: morality and the true good 38 2 The Common Good and Humanistic Social Ethics 51 2.1 On rules and rule-controlled action 51 2.2 On principles and principle-directed action 59 2.3 Common morality and particular moralities 66 2.4 Good and evil, right and wrong, fact and value 74 3 The Common Good and T.H. Green's Political Theory 84- 3.1 Exposition ofGreen's political theory: on the key role ofthe idea ofrights 84 3.2 Elucidation ofthe idea ofrights 88 3.3 Elucidation ofthe idea ofrights (continued): rights and morality 93 3.4 On the sources ofrights 102 3.5 Green's political theory: interpretation and assessment - from a 'rights-based' to a 'neo-communitarian' idea ofthe state 113 3.6 Green's political theory: interpretation and assessment (continued) - state action and 'the removal ofobstacles' 119 V11 VUl Contents Part n Politics and the HUD1an Condition 4 The Idea ofGovernment 129 4.1 Three questions about government:some related conceptual issues 129 4.2 Answers to the three questions: on political authority 137 4.3 On the nature and significance ofgovernment: why government must be constitutional 146 4.4 Forms ofgovernment: on representative democracy, representation and accountability 157 4.5 Representative democracy (continued):political controversy, political participation, local government and federalism 166 5 Government and Morality 175 5.1 Political obligation 175 5.2 Political obligation (continued): the consent theory 186 5.3 Anarchism, autonomy and freedom 196 5.4 Autonomy (continued): corporate autonomy and the value of autonomy 205 5.5 On punishment: its nature, purpose and justification 216 5.6 Punishment (continued): some issuesarising from its purpose and justification 225 5.7 Polarization, rebellion, civildisobedience 229 6 On Controversy, Conflict and the Human Condition 241 6.1 On the concepts of controversy and of conflict 241 6.2 Controversy and conflict (continued): on discussion and negotiation 251 6.3 Human characteristics, human rationality and the human condition 258 6.4 Religion and the human condition 268 6.5 Humanistic social ethics and the human condition 276 6.6 Political controversy and the paradox of party politics 285 7 Retrospect and Unfinished Business 296 7.1 Synopsis and commentary 296 7.2 Tensions and difficulties 306 Contents IX Notes 317 Index 334 Acknowledgements Among the people from whom I have received help in one way or another in writing this book, there are some to whom I am espe ciallyindebted and to whom I want to express my thanks. Professor Roger Crisp of St Anne's College, Oxford, has read the entire. typescript in draft and his many wise and perceptive comments have been invaluable. Professor Elizabeth Wolgast of Heywood State University, California, has read the typescript draft of Part I ofthe book and she too has made many comments from which I have benefited. In Durham University my friend and former col league the late Henry Tudor and the members of the politics research seminar listened over the years to a number of papers in which I have presented some of the central themes and arguments ofthe book. Their critical responses have helped me to clarify my thought and to refine its presentation. Also at Durham, Professor David Cooper and the members of the philosophy seminar have been subjectedby me to much the same treatment during the same period and again I have learned much from their critical dis cussions. Finallythereare twootherpeople to whom I am especially indebted. One is my friend Philip Thody, Emeritus Professor at Leeds University, for his time and energy in the laborious work of correcting the proofs. The other is my wife Susan to whom this book is dedicated. Not only has she transcribed my original type script onto the family word-processor, but in her capacity as author's candid friend she has done her best to remove infelicities ofstyleand expression from my prose, and those which remain are my fault and not hers. AJ.M.M. University ofDurham x
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