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THE NATURE OF POLITICAL THEORY This page intentionally left blank The Nature of Political Theory ANDREW VINCENT 1 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxfordox26dp OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwidein Oxford NewYork Auckland Bangkok BuenosAires CapeTown Chennai DaresSalaam Delhi HongKong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Mumbai Nairobi SãoPaulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress intheUKandincertainothercountries PublishedintheUnitedStates byOxfordUniversityPressInc.,NewYork ©AndrewVincent,2004 Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted DatabaserightOxfordUniversityPress(maker) Firstpublished2004 Firstpublishedinpaperback2007 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced, storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans, withoutthepriorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress, orasexpresslypermittedbylaw,orundertermsagreedwiththeappropriate reprographicsrightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproduction outsidethescopeoftheaboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment, OxfordUniversityPress,attheaddressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisbookinanyotherbindingorcover andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Dataavailable ISBN 978-0-19-927125-2(Hbk.) 978-0-19-929795-5(Pbk). TypesetbySPIPublisherServices,Pondicherry,India PrintedinGreatBritain onacid-freepaperby BiddlesLtd.,King’sLynn,Norfolk Preface Theoriginalideaforthisbookstartedlifesometenyearsago. Attheoutset, itwas envisagedasashorttext,butsubsequentlyitappearedvirtuallytotakeonalifeofits own.TheinitialseriousresearchbeganduringatwoyearfellowshipintheResearch SchooloftheSocialSciencesattheAustralianNationalUniversity,between1994and 1996.MythanksgototheResearchSchool,andparticularlytoBarryHindess,who then headed the politics section. I am sure Barry’s perspective will differ markedly from my own; nonetheless, his independent critical thinking and open, friendly supportweregreatstimulitomyinitialreflectionsonthiswholeissue.Whilstinthe ResearchSchoolIranaseminarseriesoverayear, onthetheme‘WhitherPolitical Theory?’ManyofthepaperswerelaterpublishedinaneditedvolumeentitledPolitical Theory: Tradition and Diversity (1997): however, the seminars themselves were an additionalimpetustothinkingmoredeeplyaboutthewholeissueoftheory.Inmany waystheserieswas, inpart, aprefacetothepresentstudy. Mythanksgotoallthe participantsinthatseminarprogramme. After my research period in Australia, I found myself involved in a process of detailed administrative work at Cardiff University which slowed my research momentum. I sought solace in some easier writing projects. But the ideas for the presentworkkeptuptheirownpeculiarunderlyingintellectualmomentum.Between 2000and2001, Iwasfortunatetobeofferedasabbaticalresearchfellowshipinthe Humanities Research Centre in the Australian National University, Canberra. My thanksalsogoheretomyoldUniversityinCardiffforthisperiodofresearchleave, whichallowedmetimenotonlytofinishanotherprojectonnationalism, butalso to return to the present topic under the excellent writing conditions provided by the Centre—I was thus able to complete a large proportion of the present book. It also enabled me to meet up again with old friends and colleagues in Canberra. I am especially grateful to the then Director of the Humanities Research Centre, IainMcCalmanandCarolineTurner(DeputyDirector)forprovidingsuchfirstclass friendlyandsupportiveconditions. In2001,IjoinedthepoliticsdepartmentatSheffieldUniversityandhavemanaged overmyfirstcoupleofyearstocompletethepresentbookinthemidstofnewteach- ingandadministrativeresponsibilities.Mythanksgotothepoliticaltheorygroupin thedepartment—thatis,MikeKenny,MatthewFestenstein,AndrewGamble,James Meadowcroft, and Duncan Kelly—for enjoyable political theory conversation and encouragement.Overthelastdecade,andmore,duringwhichIhavethoughtintens- ivelyaboutpoliticaltheory,Ihaveincurredinnumerableintellectualdebts.Therehave beensomanyinterestingconversationsfromwhichIhavelearnttoseepoliticaltheory issuesinanewlight.Mythanksgoto(tonamebutafew)EdAndrew,DavidBoucher, BobBrown, MariaDimova-Cookson, MichaelFreeden, MauriceGoldsmith, Knud vi Preface Haakonssen, DuncanIvison, BarryJones, RoyJones, RexMartin, PeterNicholson, RaymondPlant,AndrewSharp,VickiSpencer,PeterSutch,andDavidWest.Ihave alsobeenveryfortunate,inthefinalstagesofcompletingthemanuscript,tohavehad suchagoodeditorinDominicByattatOxfordUniversityPress. Myfamilyhaveprovidedvitalcompanionshipduringthiswholeperiod.Mywife Mary, my children Lisa, Sara, Jason, and Rachael, and their respective spouses Stephane, Steve, and Rebekah, my amazing grandchildren Josie, Carla, Laura, and ChloeandmyvaluedfriendDiana,haveallsustainedandnourishedmeintheirown uniqueways. AndrewVincent SheffieldUniversity Contents 1 AnEclecticSubject 1 Foundations 3 TheoryandPolitics 7 PatternoftheBook 10 PART ONE 17 2 WeHaveaFirmFoundation 19 ClassicalNormativePoliticalTheory 19 InstitutionalPoliticalTheory 28 HistoricalPoliticalTheory 37 EmpiricalPoliticalTheory 51 IdeologicalPoliticalTheory 65 Conclusion 73 PART TWO 81 3 FoundationsShakenbutNotStirred 83 LogicalPositivism 84 OrdinaryLanguage 88 ADigressiononDeathandPutrefaction 91 WittgensteinandEssentialContestability 95 AReckoningwithEssentialContestability 100 Conclusion 104 4 BleachedFoundations 108 TheConceptofJustice 109 ConceptionsofJustice 111 ProceduralTheories 113 SocialJustice:DesertandNon-Desert 115 JusticeandMutualAdvantage 118 JusticeandUtility 120 JusticeasImpartiality 124 SexualJustice 127 SpheresofJustice 130 Conclusion 132 viii Contents PART THREE 139 5 ShoringUpFoundations 141 Conventions 143 OakeshottandConventionalism 145 Communitarianism 154 PoliticalLiberalism 162 Conclusion 167 6 NewConventionsforOld 171 Nationalism 171 Neo-Aristotelianism 177 Republicanism 187 Conclusion 200 PART FOUR 205 7 SegmentedFoundationsandPluralism 207 AWordaboutPluralism 209 LiberalPluralism 211 MulticulturalPluralism 215 DifferencePluralism 219 Conclusion 226 8 StandingProblems 232 NietzscheandtheTwilightoftheIdols 233 HeideggerandHumanism 239 DerridaandFoucault 242 RortyandConnolly 250 LyotardandtheDifferend 253 Conclusion 257 PART FIVE 269 9 DialogicFoundations 271 ThePhilosophicalContext 272 CriticalTheory 275 CriticalTheoryFulfilled 278 PositivismandKnowledgeSpheres 280 TheCritiqueofFoundationalismandtheSubject 282 UniversalPragmaticsandFallibilism 285 DiscourseEthicsandDeliberativeDemocracy 288 Conclusion 290 Contents ix 10 CircularFoundations 294 TheHermeneuticContext 296 Language,History,andPrejudice 297 EnlightenmentandPositivism 301 DialogueandFusion 303 EthicsandPolitics 306 ADialogicConflict 310 Conclusion 315 Conclusion 319 Bibliography 327 Index 345