Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History

Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History

Author: Steven L. B. Jensen

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-01-06

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 1316519236

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A pioneering study in the history of social rights, filling a significant gap in human rights scholarship and practice.


Book Synopsis Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History by : Steven L. B. Jensen

Download or read book Social Rights and the Politics of Obligation in History written by Steven L. B. Jensen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-06 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pioneering study in the history of social rights, filling a significant gap in human rights scholarship and practice.


Power, Authority, Justice, and Rights

Power, Authority, Justice, and Rights

Author: Anthony de Crespigny

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 1351497375

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Although political scientists and their students tended, prior to the seventies, to approach political theory as the history of political ideas, a rapid growth of interest in political theory as the analysis of political concepts led to the publication of this book. The approach outlined here remains significant today not only for its contribution to normative analysis, but also because it shows how political scientists can view their subject matter with a more profound understanding of the concepts they deal with in their work.De Crespigny and Wertheimer selected fourteen essays on seven fundamental political concepts for this volume: power, authority, liberty, equality, justice, rights, and political obligation. These essays explore the basic ideas and values of politics, and are the works of scholars with considerable reputations as theorists among their contemporaries. They continue to represent some of the best Anglo-American thinking of the century.The editors discuss the nature and possibilities of political theory and, in particular, they examine the adequacy of the criticisms that have commonly been directed at the main works of "traditional" political thought. They provide an incisive introduction to each chapter. These explanatory materials result in a volume that can be used as the primary text in courses in political theory and political philosophy, in a course in the history of political thought, or as a guide to basic issues underlying political thought irrespective of its historical context.


Book Synopsis Power, Authority, Justice, and Rights by : Anthony de Crespigny

Download or read book Power, Authority, Justice, and Rights written by Anthony de Crespigny and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although political scientists and their students tended, prior to the seventies, to approach political theory as the history of political ideas, a rapid growth of interest in political theory as the analysis of political concepts led to the publication of this book. The approach outlined here remains significant today not only for its contribution to normative analysis, but also because it shows how political scientists can view their subject matter with a more profound understanding of the concepts they deal with in their work.De Crespigny and Wertheimer selected fourteen essays on seven fundamental political concepts for this volume: power, authority, liberty, equality, justice, rights, and political obligation. These essays explore the basic ideas and values of politics, and are the works of scholars with considerable reputations as theorists among their contemporaries. They continue to represent some of the best Anglo-American thinking of the century.The editors discuss the nature and possibilities of political theory and, in particular, they examine the adequacy of the criticisms that have commonly been directed at the main works of "traditional" political thought. They provide an incisive introduction to each chapter. These explanatory materials result in a volume that can be used as the primary text in courses in political theory and political philosophy, in a course in the history of political thought, or as a guide to basic issues underlying political thought irrespective of its historical context.


On Political Obligation

On Political Obligation

Author: Paul Harris

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-11-19

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1000706427

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

First published in 1990. The individual’s obligation to obey the law, the state and the government is a fundamental part of contemporary political theory. The contributors to this volume, drawn from a variety of disciplines including philosophy, political science and law, take a fresh look at the dilemmas of political obligation. They discuss the extent to which we should allow the need for conformity to override individual liberties, and ask whether individualism is indeed feasible without a highly developed sense of the ‘public interest’ or the ‘common good‘. The contrast between individualism and communitarianism is examined throughout the book. The contributors also look at the various means through which the state can coerce or persuade the individual to be obedient. The emphasis throughout this collection is on the substantive problems themselves, rather than on the way these issues have been addressed in the history of political thought. The book offers a number of different perspectives on political obligation, and will be valuable to students of moral, political, social and legal philosophy.


Book Synopsis On Political Obligation by : Paul Harris

Download or read book On Political Obligation written by Paul Harris and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1990. The individual’s obligation to obey the law, the state and the government is a fundamental part of contemporary political theory. The contributors to this volume, drawn from a variety of disciplines including philosophy, political science and law, take a fresh look at the dilemmas of political obligation. They discuss the extent to which we should allow the need for conformity to override individual liberties, and ask whether individualism is indeed feasible without a highly developed sense of the ‘public interest’ or the ‘common good‘. The contrast between individualism and communitarianism is examined throughout the book. The contributors also look at the various means through which the state can coerce or persuade the individual to be obedient. The emphasis throughout this collection is on the substantive problems themselves, rather than on the way these issues have been addressed in the history of political thought. The book offers a number of different perspectives on political obligation, and will be valuable to students of moral, political, social and legal philosophy.


Social Contract and Political Obligation

Social Contract and Political Obligation

Author: Peter J. McCormick

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-11-21

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 1000706575

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

First published in 1987. This study is concerned with the problem of political obligation, the normative question of why one should obey the law, and with social contract thought as an answer to this question. It is entitled a critique, but the critique is not of social contract theory as such, but rather of the "orthodox" treatment of contract that yields so readily to the rough handling and easy rejection that is the normal lot of contractarianism in contemporary treatments. In its place will be suggested a reinterpretation of contract that sees it as making different assumptions and requiring different premises, and that is proof against many of the orthodox refutations of social contract theory; the reinterpretation is thus in the nature of a vindication. First, from an examination of the most commonly cited champions of contractarianism (namely Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau) will be derive a reinterpretation of contract in the form of a new model or syllogism, the features of which will be brought out by contrasting it first with the contemporary ideas of John Rawls and then with the orthodox model itself. Democratic consent theory, as the heir to the remnants of the orthodox model, will be examined, and the ideas of T. H. Green will be considered as embodying an important feature of contractarianism omitted or ignored by the orthodox model (and hence by democratic theory.) Finally, the new model of contract will be suggested as a potentially useful approach to the problem of political obligation in the modern context. This title will be of interest to student of politics and philosophy.


Book Synopsis Social Contract and Political Obligation by : Peter J. McCormick

Download or read book Social Contract and Political Obligation written by Peter J. McCormick and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-21 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1987. This study is concerned with the problem of political obligation, the normative question of why one should obey the law, and with social contract thought as an answer to this question. It is entitled a critique, but the critique is not of social contract theory as such, but rather of the "orthodox" treatment of contract that yields so readily to the rough handling and easy rejection that is the normal lot of contractarianism in contemporary treatments. In its place will be suggested a reinterpretation of contract that sees it as making different assumptions and requiring different premises, and that is proof against many of the orthodox refutations of social contract theory; the reinterpretation is thus in the nature of a vindication. First, from an examination of the most commonly cited champions of contractarianism (namely Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau) will be derive a reinterpretation of contract in the form of a new model or syllogism, the features of which will be brought out by contrasting it first with the contemporary ideas of John Rawls and then with the orthodox model itself. Democratic consent theory, as the heir to the remnants of the orthodox model, will be examined, and the ideas of T. H. Green will be considered as embodying an important feature of contractarianism omitted or ignored by the orthodox model (and hence by democratic theory.) Finally, the new model of contract will be suggested as a potentially useful approach to the problem of political obligation in the modern context. This title will be of interest to student of politics and philosophy.


Indivisible Human Rights

Indivisible Human Rights

Author: Daniel J. Whelan

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Published: 2011-06-06

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0812205405

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Human rights activists frequently claim that human rights are indivisible, and the United Nations has declared the indivisibility, interdependency, and interrelatedness of these rights to be beyond dispute. Yet in practice a significant divide remains between the two grand categories of human rights: civil and political rights, on the one hand, and economic, social, and cultural rights on the other. To date, few scholars have critically examined how the notion of indivisibility has shaped the complex relationship between these two sets of rights. In Indivisible Human Rights, Daniel J. Whelan offers a carefully crafted account of the rhetoric of indivisibility. Whelan traces the political and historical development of the concept, which originated in the contentious debates surrounding the translation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into binding treaty law as two separate Covenants on Human Rights. In the 1960s and 1970s, Whelan demonstrates, postcolonial states employed a revisionist rhetoric of indivisibility to elevate economic and social rights over civil and political rights, eventually resulting in the declaration of a right to development. By the 1990s, the rhetoric of indivisibility had shifted to emphasize restoration of the fundamental unity of human rights and reaffirm the obligation of states to uphold both major human rights categories—thus opening the door to charges of violations resulting from underdevelopment and poverty. As Indivisible Human Rights illustrates, the rhetoric of indivisibility has frequently been used to further political ends that have little to do with promoting the rights of the individual. Drawing on scores of original documents, many of them long forgotten, Whelan lets the players in this drama speak for themselves, revealing the conflicts and compromises behind a half century of human rights discourse. Indivisible Human Rights will be welcomed by scholars and practitioners seeking a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding the realization of human rights.


Book Synopsis Indivisible Human Rights by : Daniel J. Whelan

Download or read book Indivisible Human Rights written by Daniel J. Whelan and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2011-06-06 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human rights activists frequently claim that human rights are indivisible, and the United Nations has declared the indivisibility, interdependency, and interrelatedness of these rights to be beyond dispute. Yet in practice a significant divide remains between the two grand categories of human rights: civil and political rights, on the one hand, and economic, social, and cultural rights on the other. To date, few scholars have critically examined how the notion of indivisibility has shaped the complex relationship between these two sets of rights. In Indivisible Human Rights, Daniel J. Whelan offers a carefully crafted account of the rhetoric of indivisibility. Whelan traces the political and historical development of the concept, which originated in the contentious debates surrounding the translation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into binding treaty law as two separate Covenants on Human Rights. In the 1960s and 1970s, Whelan demonstrates, postcolonial states employed a revisionist rhetoric of indivisibility to elevate economic and social rights over civil and political rights, eventually resulting in the declaration of a right to development. By the 1990s, the rhetoric of indivisibility had shifted to emphasize restoration of the fundamental unity of human rights and reaffirm the obligation of states to uphold both major human rights categories—thus opening the door to charges of violations resulting from underdevelopment and poverty. As Indivisible Human Rights illustrates, the rhetoric of indivisibility has frequently been used to further political ends that have little to do with promoting the rights of the individual. Drawing on scores of original documents, many of them long forgotten, Whelan lets the players in this drama speak for themselves, revealing the conflicts and compromises behind a half century of human rights discourse. Indivisible Human Rights will be welcomed by scholars and practitioners seeking a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding the realization of human rights.


Political Obligation in its Historical Context

Political Obligation in its Historical Context

Author: John Dunn

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1980-10-02

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9780521228909

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

What sort of commitments do human beings have good reason to acknowledge to one another and to the social units (family, tribe, state) to which they belong? Is the sovereign authority of the state anywhere or everywhere a true moral authority, or is it simply a coercive capacity of varying force, reposing on a range of effectively touted false beliefs? What political obligations, if any, do men truly have? The central questions of political philosophy have not lessened in practical urgency or in theoretical difficulty in recent decades. But they have become increasingly hard to address in an intellectually serious fashion and modern thinkers have become increasingly reluctant even to try to address them in such a fashion. Mr Dunn's collection of essays records an attempt to recapture the sense and character of these questions by approaching them from an unusually broad variety of perspectives.


Book Synopsis Political Obligation in its Historical Context by : John Dunn

Download or read book Political Obligation in its Historical Context written by John Dunn and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1980-10-02 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What sort of commitments do human beings have good reason to acknowledge to one another and to the social units (family, tribe, state) to which they belong? Is the sovereign authority of the state anywhere or everywhere a true moral authority, or is it simply a coercive capacity of varying force, reposing on a range of effectively touted false beliefs? What political obligations, if any, do men truly have? The central questions of political philosophy have not lessened in practical urgency or in theoretical difficulty in recent decades. But they have become increasingly hard to address in an intellectually serious fashion and modern thinkers have become increasingly reluctant even to try to address them in such a fashion. Mr Dunn's collection of essays records an attempt to recapture the sense and character of these questions by approaching them from an unusually broad variety of perspectives.


Moral Principles and Political Obligations

Moral Principles and Political Obligations

Author: A. John Simmons

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-05-05

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 0691213240

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Outlining the major competing theories in the history of political and moral philosophy--from Locke and Hume through Hart, Rawls, and Nozick--John Simmons attempts to understand and solve the ancient problem of political obligation. Under what conditions and for what reasons (if any), he asks, are we morally bound to obey the law and support the political institutions of our countries?


Book Synopsis Moral Principles and Political Obligations by : A. John Simmons

Download or read book Moral Principles and Political Obligations written by A. John Simmons and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outlining the major competing theories in the history of political and moral philosophy--from Locke and Hume through Hart, Rawls, and Nozick--John Simmons attempts to understand and solve the ancient problem of political obligation. Under what conditions and for what reasons (if any), he asks, are we morally bound to obey the law and support the political institutions of our countries?


Boundaries of Obligation in American Politics

Boundaries of Obligation in American Politics

Author: Cara J. Wong

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-03-08

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1139487132

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book shows how ordinary Americans imagine their communities and the extent to which their communities' boundaries determine who they believe should benefit from the government's resources via redistributive policies. By contributing extensive empirical analyses to a largely theoretical discussion, it highlights the subjective nature of communities while confronting the elusive task of pinning down 'pictures in people's heads'. A deeper understanding of people's definitions of their communities and how they affect feelings of duties and obligations provides a new lens through which to look at diverse societies and the potential for both civic solidarity and humanitarian aid. This book analyzes three different types of communities and more than eight national surveys. Wong finds that the decision to help only those within certain borders and ignore the needs of those outside rests, to a certain extent, on whether and how people translate their sense of community into obligations.


Book Synopsis Boundaries of Obligation in American Politics by : Cara J. Wong

Download or read book Boundaries of Obligation in American Politics written by Cara J. Wong and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-03-08 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book shows how ordinary Americans imagine their communities and the extent to which their communities' boundaries determine who they believe should benefit from the government's resources via redistributive policies. By contributing extensive empirical analyses to a largely theoretical discussion, it highlights the subjective nature of communities while confronting the elusive task of pinning down 'pictures in people's heads'. A deeper understanding of people's definitions of their communities and how they affect feelings of duties and obligations provides a new lens through which to look at diverse societies and the potential for both civic solidarity and humanitarian aid. This book analyzes three different types of communities and more than eight national surveys. Wong finds that the decision to help only those within certain borders and ignore the needs of those outside rests, to a certain extent, on whether and how people translate their sense of community into obligations.


A Theory of Political Obligation

A Theory of Political Obligation

Author: Margaret Gilbert

Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand

Published: 2006-05-11

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 0199274959

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Margaret Gilbert offers an incisive new approach to a classic problem of political philosophy: when and why should I do what the laws of my country tell me to do? Beginning with carefully argued accounts of social groups in general and political societies in particular, the author argues that in central, standard senses of the relevant terms membership in a political society in and of itself obligates one to support that society's political institutions. The obligations in questionare not moral requirements derived from general moral principles, as is often supposed, but a matter of one's participation in a special kind of commitment: joint commitment. An agreement is sufficient but not necessary to generate such a commitment. Gilbert uses the phrase 'plural subject' to referto all of those who are jointly committed in some way. She therefore labels the theory offered in this book the plural subject theory of political obligation.The author concentrates on the exposition of this theory, carefully explaining how and in what sense joint commitments obligate. She also explores a classic theory of political obligation --- actual contract theory --- according to which one is obligated to conform to the laws of one's country because one agreed to do so. She offers a new interpretation of this theory in light of a theory of plural subject theory of agreements. She argues that actual contract theory has more merit than has beenthought, though the more general plural subject theory is to be preferred. She compares and contrasts plural subject theory with identification theory, relationship theory, and the theory of fair play. She brings it to bear on some classic situations of crisis, and, in the concluding chapter,suggests a number of avenues for related empirical and moral inquiry.Clearly and compellingly written, A Theory of Political Obligation will be essential reading for political philosophers and theorists.


Book Synopsis A Theory of Political Obligation by : Margaret Gilbert

Download or read book A Theory of Political Obligation written by Margaret Gilbert and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2006-05-11 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Margaret Gilbert offers an incisive new approach to a classic problem of political philosophy: when and why should I do what the laws of my country tell me to do? Beginning with carefully argued accounts of social groups in general and political societies in particular, the author argues that in central, standard senses of the relevant terms membership in a political society in and of itself obligates one to support that society's political institutions. The obligations in questionare not moral requirements derived from general moral principles, as is often supposed, but a matter of one's participation in a special kind of commitment: joint commitment. An agreement is sufficient but not necessary to generate such a commitment. Gilbert uses the phrase 'plural subject' to referto all of those who are jointly committed in some way. She therefore labels the theory offered in this book the plural subject theory of political obligation.The author concentrates on the exposition of this theory, carefully explaining how and in what sense joint commitments obligate. She also explores a classic theory of political obligation --- actual contract theory --- according to which one is obligated to conform to the laws of one's country because one agreed to do so. She offers a new interpretation of this theory in light of a theory of plural subject theory of agreements. She argues that actual contract theory has more merit than has beenthought, though the more general plural subject theory is to be preferred. She compares and contrasts plural subject theory with identification theory, relationship theory, and the theory of fair play. She brings it to bear on some classic situations of crisis, and, in the concluding chapter,suggests a number of avenues for related empirical and moral inquiry.Clearly and compellingly written, A Theory of Political Obligation will be essential reading for political philosophers and theorists.


Political and Legal Obligation

Political and Legal Obligation

Author: J. Roland Pennock

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-12

Total Pages: 474

ISBN-13: 1351499238

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

At a point in history marked by dramatic challenges to the existing political and social order, the question of legal and political obligation emerges as a focal point of international concern. Amid the clamor for radical change in the established order, theories of political obligation demand renewed examination. In this volume, eighteen leading specialists in the legal, philosophical, and political science aspects of the question offer their views on this timely topic. Part I examines the nature of moral, legal, and political obligation. The first essay presents a set of definitions that denies the very existence of obligation. While the second essay disagreeing particularly with respect to the relationship of political to moral tenets, and the third discussing the highly complex interplay between law and morality. The following essay approaches obligation as existing in the context of an established political and legal system and stresses the importance of evaluating the negative consequences of challenges to the law as well as those arising from the absence of challenges. The next paper maintains that political obligation is so complex that its very existence depends upon rational deliberation in particular contexts. The fifth, explores four significant theories but accepts only the one based on the broadest definition of obligation. While the final essay in this part considers political obligation a unique and generalized moral obligation. Part II takes up the conditions of obligation and of obedience. The first essay in this part discusses the conditions necessary to generate a "felt obligation." The second paper, concentrates on exposing key obstacles to empirical proof that behavior is or is not motivated by "felt obligation." While the third draws upon a large body of literature and court decisions dealing with compliance to the law. The forth essay is a case study of Rome probes the role of obligation during that city's seven cent


Book Synopsis Political and Legal Obligation by : J. Roland Pennock

Download or read book Political and Legal Obligation written by J. Roland Pennock and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-12 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a point in history marked by dramatic challenges to the existing political and social order, the question of legal and political obligation emerges as a focal point of international concern. Amid the clamor for radical change in the established order, theories of political obligation demand renewed examination. In this volume, eighteen leading specialists in the legal, philosophical, and political science aspects of the question offer their views on this timely topic. Part I examines the nature of moral, legal, and political obligation. The first essay presents a set of definitions that denies the very existence of obligation. While the second essay disagreeing particularly with respect to the relationship of political to moral tenets, and the third discussing the highly complex interplay between law and morality. The following essay approaches obligation as existing in the context of an established political and legal system and stresses the importance of evaluating the negative consequences of challenges to the law as well as those arising from the absence of challenges. The next paper maintains that political obligation is so complex that its very existence depends upon rational deliberation in particular contexts. The fifth, explores four significant theories but accepts only the one based on the broadest definition of obligation. While the final essay in this part considers political obligation a unique and generalized moral obligation. Part II takes up the conditions of obligation and of obedience. The first essay in this part discusses the conditions necessary to generate a "felt obligation." The second paper, concentrates on exposing key obstacles to empirical proof that behavior is or is not motivated by "felt obligation." While the third draws upon a large body of literature and court decisions dealing with compliance to the law. The forth essay is a case study of Rome probes the role of obligation during that city's seven cent