Rawls and Realism

Social Theory and Practice 38 (1):55-82 (2012)
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Abstract

Political realists like Bernard Williams and Raymond Geuss reject political moralism, where ideal ethical theory comes first, then applied principles, and politics is reduced to a kind of applied ethics. While the models of political moralism that Williams criticizes are endorsed by G.A. Cohen and Ronald Dworkin respectively, I argue that this realist case against John Rawls cannot be sustained. In explicating and defending Rawls’s realistically utopian conception of ideal theory I defend a Kantian conception of theory where it is by abstracting from immediate realities that theory is fit to guide practice by providing a framework for political judgment.

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Citations of this work

Realism in Normative Political Theory.Enzo Rossi & Matt Sleat - 2014 - Philosophy Compass 9 (10):689-701.
Being realistic and demanding the impossible.Enzo Rossi - 2019 - Constellations 26 (4):638-652.
The radical realist critique of Rawls: a reconstruction and response.Paul Raekstad - 2024 - Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 27 (2):183-205.
Consensus, compromise, justice and legitimacy.Enzo Rossi - 2013 - Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 16 (4):557-572.
Consensus, Compromise, Justice and Legitimacy.Enzo Rossi - 2013 - Critical Review of Social and International Political Philosophy 16 (4):557-572.

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