Political Thinking, Political Theory, and Civil Society, CourseSmart eTextbook, 3rd Edition

A comprehensive overview of the Western tradition of political thought that approaches concepts with the aim of helping students develop their own political thinking and critical thinking skills.

 

This text is uniquely organized around the theme of civil society — what is the nature of a civil society? why is it important? — that will engage students and help make the material relevant. Major thinkers discussed in the text are explored not only with the goal of understanding their views, but also with an interest in understanding the relationship of their ideas to the notion of a civil society.  DeLue contends that a civil society is important for securing the way of life that most of us value and want to preserve, a way of life that allows people to live freely and place significance on their own lives.

Preface    xi

Introduction 

I. Political Thinking and Political Theory 

II. The Link Between Political Theory and Political Thinking

III. Socrates of the Apology and The Crito

IV. The Rest of the Book 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

Chapter 1. The Importance of a Civil Society 

I. Civil Society: The Problem Faced 

II. The Democratic Civil Society 

III. Civil Society of Mediating Groups 

IV. Civil Society, the Liberal Approach 

V. Liberal Civil Society: Civic Norms 

VI. The Civic Virtues of Toleration and Mutual Respect  

VII. The Market Dimension of Civil Society: Adam Smith’s Dilemma 

VIII. The Importance of Civil Society

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

Part I   Civil Society in the Classical and Religious Traditions

 

Chapter 2. Plato: Civic Virtue And the Just Society.

I.               Introduction.

II.            Plato's "Just Society".

III.          Plato's Republic: What Justice is Not

A.      Cephalus and Polemarchus.

B.      Thrasymachus.

IV.           The Next Question: What Is Justice?

A.      The Basic Dimensions of Society.

B.      The Guardians and the Three Parts of the Soul.

C.      The Philosopher as King.

D.      Justice, Civic Virtue, and the Noble Lie.

E.      Wisdom, courage moderation, justice

V.             Democracy and Injustice.

VI.           Plato and Civil Society.

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

3 . Aristotle’s Response to Plato: The Importance of Friendship 

I. Introduction 

II. Scientific Knowledge and Practical Intelligence 

III. Aristotle on Plato’s Forms and the Search for Happiness  

IV. The Nature of the Polis 

             A.  Citizenship and Friendship 

            B. Slavery and Friendship 

            C. Citizenship and Differentials in Contribution 

            D. Family and Private Property 

V.. Constitutions: Just and Unjust  

VI. Democracy and Public Deliberation 

VII.. Aristotle and Civil Society 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

4. Christian Conceptions of Civic Virtue 

I. Introduction 

II. Introduction to Augustine: Cicero 

            A.  The Problem of Sin 

            B. The Two Cities: The Earthly City and the Heavenly City 

            C. Implications of Augustine’s View for Civic Virtue and Civil Society 

III.. St. Thomas Aquinas: Justice Restored 

            A. The Natural Law in Aquinas 

            B .Human Law and Civic Virtue 

            C.  Aquinas on the Question of Civic Virtue and Civil Society 

IV.  Luther and Calvin: An Introduction 

            A.  Luther and Calvin: Morality and Civic Virtue 

            B. The State and Intellectual Freedom in Luther and Calvin 

V. The Implications for Civic Virtue and Civil Society 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

5. Elements of Islamic and Jewish Medieval Political Thought 

I. Introduction: Alfarabi’s Legacy 

II. Avicenna: The Philosopher and the Lawgiver

III. Averroes: The Importance of Democracy 

IV. Maimonides: The Limits of Reason and Religion 

V. Conclusion: The Implications for Civil Society 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

Part II. Early Modern Approaches to Civil Society

 

6. Niccolò Machiavelli: Civic Virtue and Civil Society 

I. Historical Setting and Introduction 

II. The Prince 

                        A. Monarchy 

                        B. Innovation through Violence 

                        C. Techniques of Power: Maintaining Appearances 

III. The Discourses and Republican Forms 

IV. Mandragola

V. The Moral of Mandragola and Civil Society 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

7 . Thomas Hobbes and Modern Civil Society  

I. Historical Context  

II. Hobbes’s Method 

III. Hobbes and the State of Nature 

IV. Hobbes’s Civil Society: The Laws of Nature and Civic Virtue 

V. The Role and Structure of the State 

VI. The Christian Commonwealth 

VII. Response and Rejoinder 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

8. Spinoza and Liberal Democracy

I. Introduction

II. Historical Setting

III. Philosophy and Religion

IV. The Social Contract of a Democratic State

V. Spinoza and Civil Society

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

9. John Locke, Civil Society, and the Constrained Majority 

I.                  Introduction.

II.            The Concept of Political Authority.

A.       The State of Nature I: Justification for Political Authority.

B.       State of Nature II: Constraints for Freedom.

C.       The Nature of Civil Society and Constrained Majority Rule.

III.          Locke's Limited Government.

A.       The Right of Revolution.

B.       Toleration and Civil Society.

IV.           Response and Rejoinder

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

 

10 . Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Community and Civil Society 

I.               Introduction.

II.            Selfishness and Self-Love.

III.          The Second Discourse: Origin of Inequality Among Men.

A.       The Loss of Civic Virtue.

B.       The New Social Contract and the New Civil Society.

IV.           Rousseau's Threat to Civil Society.

V.             Response and Rejoinder

 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

Part III.  Late Modern and Contemporary Approaches to Civil Society

 

11 . Kant: Civil Society and International Order 

I. Public Reason 

II. The Process of Practical Reason 

III. Kant’s Civil Society  

IV. Nature’s Secret Plan 

V. The New World Order: A Federation of Civil Societies

VI. Public Reason and Civil Society 

VII. Response and Rejoinder 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

12 . Hegel: Civil Society and the State 

I. Introduction 

II. Phenomenology of Spirit 

III. Civil Society 

IV. The State and Civic Virtue 

V. Response and Rejoinder 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

13  Marx and the Economic Argument About Civil Society 

I. Marx’s Reaction to Hegel 

II. Political Emancipation: Rights in Civil Society 

III. Modern Alienation 

      A.  The Norms of Alienated Life 

    B. Historical Context of Alienation 

IV. The Economic Argument: The Sources of Exploitation 

   A.  Crisis of Capitalism: Declining Profits 

   B. The New Order 

V. . Response and Rejoinder 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

14 . John Stuart Mill: Civil Society as a Higher Calling 

I. Mill’s Perfected Civil Society 

II. Mill and Bentham and the Principle of Utility 

                        A. Bentham’s Pleasure Calculus 

                        B. Utility, Justice, and Rights 

III. On Liberty: The Culture of Civil Society 

                        A. Well-Developed Persons 

                        B. Opinion Advocacy and Civic Virtue 

                        C. Self-Regarding Conduct 

IV. The Stationary Economy and Private Property 

V. On Representative Government 

VI. Response and Rejoinder 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

15 . John Rawls: The Just and Fair Civil Society 

I. Introduction 

II. Rawls’s Principles of Justice in A Theory of Justice 

     A.  The Well-Ordered Society 

III. Political Liberalism and Value Pluralism 

    A. The Overlapping Consensus and Civic Virtue 

    B.  Public Reason and Democratic Citizenship

   C.  Civil Society and Political Liberalism 

IV. Response and Rejoinder 

Endnotes

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading

 

16 . The Conservative View: Burke, Tocqueville, and Oakeshott 

I. Introduction 

II. Edmund Burke: The Purpose of Civil Society 

   A.  The Natural Aristocracy 

   B.  The Role of Virtue: The Importance of Moderation 

    C.  Local Affiliations and Religion 

  D.  Identity and Civic Virtue in Burke 

III.  Alexis de Tocqueville and the Commitment to Equality 

   A.  The Passion for Equality 

   B.  Voluntary Associations and Local Government 

    C.  Materialism and Religion 

   D. . Threats to Civil Society 

  E.  . Tocqueville, Identity, and Civic Virtue 

IV. Introduction: Michael Oakeshott and Civil Society

A. Oakeshott’s Free Agent

B.  Civitas Versus Universitas

C.  Civitas, Politics, and Government

V. Response and Rejoinder 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

Part IV    Critiques of Civil Society

           

17. The Critique of Power in Civil Society: Friedrich Nietzsche’s and Michel Foucault 

I. Introduction 

II. Nietzsche and the Will to Power

III. Dionysus Versus Apollo and the Quest for a New Culture 

IV. The Place of Morality 

     A. The Master and Slave Moralities 

      B.  Origin of Slave and Herd Moralities 

V.  Democracy and Civil Society 

VI.  Politics of Bad Conscience 

VII. Response and Rejoinder 

VIII.     Michel Foucault’s Nietzschean Critique 

IX.                       MacIntyre’s Response to the Nietzschean Critique

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading

 

18 . Feminist Responses to Civil Society 

I. The Public and the Private 

II. The Exclusion of Women 

III. Political Theory and the Feminist Critique: Hegel and Mill 

IV.  Perspective on the Feminist Political Project

            A.  Pateman on the Sexual Contract

            B. Liberalism as Feminism: The case for Gender Neutrality and Individual Rights

             C.  Female Empowerment, Social Censorship, and the State: Catherine MacKinnon

            D.  Feminist Ethics and The Discourse of Justice: Jean Bethke Elshtain 

             E.  The Marxist Feminist Viewpoint: Nancy Hartsock

            F. . Feminist Perspectives on Power and Will: Camille Paglia and Judith Butler

V. Response and Rejoinder 

VI.. Feminism Beyond Gender?: The Expanding Scope of the Feminist Project

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

19 . Multiculturalism and the Challenges of a Global Civil Society 

I.               Introduction

II.            Communication, Rationality and Civil Society

III.          Multiculturalism and Civil Society

IV.           Civil Society and Religion

V.             Civility and Global Civil Society

A.      A New Challenge for Global Civil Society

B.      Group Differences and Expanding Civil Society

VI.           Conclusion: A Multicultural and Liberal Civil Society?

 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

Chapter 20  Conclusion: Civil Society and Civic Renewal

I.               Negotiating the Boundaries of Civil Society

II.            Why We Should Care: Civil Society, Liberal Democracy and Civic Life

III.          The Decline of Civic Engagement.

IV.           The Quest for Civic Renewal.

 

Endnotes 

Partial Bibliography and Further Reading 

 

 

Credits   

Index