Political normativity and the functional autonomy of politics
This article argues for a new interpretation of the realist claim that politics is autonomous from morality and involves specific political values. First, this article defends an original normative source: functional normativity. Second, it advocates a substantive functional standard: political inst...
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Published in | European journal of political theory Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 627 - 649 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London, England
SAGE Publications
01.10.2022
Sage Publications Ltd |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | This article argues for a new interpretation of the realist claim that politics is autonomous from morality and involves specific political values. First, this article defends an original normative source: functional normativity. Second, it advocates a substantive functional standard: political institutions ought to be assessed by their capacity to select and implement collective decisions. Drawing from the ‘etiological account’ in philosophy of biology, I will argue that functions yield normative standards, which are independent from morality. For example, a ‘good heart’ is one that pumps blood well, and a good army is one that it is effective at exerting military force. I then interpret realism’s naturalistic conception of politics as an etiological function of social groups: namely making binding collective decisions under persistent disagreement. I conclude that political institutions should be evaluated realistically by how well they perform this task. Finally, I assess trade-offs between this functional political normativity and other moral values. I conclude that justice, fairness, freedom and equality remain obviously important concerns, but only once the basic political function is secured. |
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ISSN: | 1474-8851 1741-2730 |
DOI: | 10.1177/1474885120918500 |