Table Of ContentPOLITICS
KEY CONCEPTS IN PHILOSOPHY
Continuum Key Concepts in Philosophy
Key Concepts in Philosophy is a series of concise, accessible and engaging introduc-
tions to the core ideas and subjects encountered in the study of philosophy. Specially
written to meet the needs of students and those with an interest in, but little prior
knowledge of, philosophy, these books open up fascinating, yet sometimes difficult,
ideas. The series builds to give a solid grounding in philosophy, and each book is also
ideal as a companion to further study.
Key Concepts in Philosophy available from Continuum:
Aesthetics, Daniel Herwitz
Epistemology, Christopher Norris
Ethics, Dwight Furrow
Gender, Tina Chanter
Language, José Medina
Law, David Ingram
Logic, Laurence Goldstein, Andrew Brennan,
Max Deutsch and Joe Y. F. Lau
Mind, Eric Matthews
Religion, Brendan Sweetman
Science, Steven French
POLITICS
KEY CONCEPTS IN PHILOSOPHY
IAIN MACKENZIE
Continuum International Publishing Group
The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
© Iain MacKenzie, 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval
system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: HB: 978-0-8264-8794-0
PB: 978-0-8264-8795-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
MacKenzie, Iain M.
Politics : key concepts in philosophy / Iain MacKenzie.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references
ISBN 978-0-8264-8794-0 (HB)
ISBN 978-0-8264-8795-7 (Pbk)
1. Political science – Philosophy. I. Title.
JA71.M195 2009
320.01 – dc22
2008035397
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin,
Cornwall
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vii
Chapter 1 Introduction: What is politics? 1
What is politics? 4
Government, governance and
governmentalization 9
Norms and varieties of political philosophy 12
The political and politicization 17
Chapter 2 Authority and Liberty 21
Absolute authority 23
Limits to authority 32
Individual liberty 39
Liberty and the general will 42
Chapter 3 The State and Power 51
The capitalist state 52
The patriarchal state 61
Three dimensions of power 66
Power and normalization 70
Chapter 4 Social Justice and Equality 75
The good life 75
Value-pluralism 78
Justice as fairness 81
Justice as entitlement 89
Care and justice 91
The return of the good 97
v
CONTENTS
Chapter 5 Democracy and Political Order 102
Democracy and disorder 104
Democracy and the value of political participation 105
The difficult birth of liberal democracy 110
From representative to deliberative democracy 112
Agonism and political order 119
Chapter 6 Culture and Critique 122
Background to the culture debates 122
Cultural membership as a primary good 125
Minority cultures and the rights of women 129
Women, culture and identity 131
The fusion of horizons 136
Intersubjectivity and the politics of recognition 138
Chapter 7 Conclusion: Identity, Difference and
Political Philosophy 141
French feminist critiques of identity 143
The trouble with gender 149
The challenge of difference 154
Difference in political philosophy 158
Difference and political philosophy 161
Bibliography 165
Index 171
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This is a book for all those family members, friends, students and
colleagues who have often asked me what I do and who have looked
surprised, bewildered, intrigued, amused, and much more, when I say
in response: ‘political philosophy’. There are far too many of you to
list, but this book is really my way of saying ‘thank you’ to all of you
for the many fantastic conversations we have had over the years: at
dinner tables, and in bars, coffee houses and seminar rooms. The book
is also an open invitation to all to read about political philosophy for
yourself in the hope that doing so will encourage you to become a
political philosopher as well. As you will see, to become a political
philosopher is not just or even primarily about becoming a member
of the academic community, it is about exploring political ideas in
your everyday life, whatever you do.
My thanks go to the series editors, John Mullarkey and Caroline
Williams, and to all at Continuum, especially Sarah Campbell and Tom
Crick, for their encouragement, advice and support (as well as their
remarkably high levels of patience) as this book slowly took shape.
During the preparation of this book I have had some tremendous
expert help, and my heartfelt thanks go out to Anna Cutler, Caleb
Sivyer and Martin Larsson for their thoughtful commentaries and
constructive criticism. Anna, Kathryn and Sam continue to be my
inspiration. What’s more, their love and support in helping me to
see this project through was beyond any that could reasonably be
expected. In the writing of this book, though, Robin Cutler was the
wind behind my sails as well as being an astute, insightful and inspir-
ing reader and critic. This book is dedicated to you, Robin.
vii
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS POLITICS?
In September 2007 Gordon Brown, the then newly appointed British
Prime Minister, announced plans to broaden public consultation and
to engender a ‘new type of politics’ (Brown: 2007). He declared that
the ‘old politics’, based on ‘a narrow debate between what states do
and what markets do’, was eroding public services, communities and
families. Government, he said, required ‘the widest range of talents’,
a range that should not be limited by party-political divisions. The
aim of this new administration, he continued, would be to create a
‘politics of common purpose’, one that could cross party lines, and
therefore engage citizens more firmly at ‘the grassroots level’. In the
days and weeks that followed this speech, opposition leaders, pundits,
party hacks and policy wonks all had their say, and it can be stated
without irony that the ensuing debate had a distinctly old-fashioned
party-political flavour to it. While there was nothing surprising in
this, for those with an interest in politics that stretches beyond simply
dissecting the latest pronouncements of ‘our leaders’ it was notable
that Brown’s new type of politics echoed with themes from the history
of Western political thought so loudly that one felt the very meaning
of ‘new’ must surely be at stake. That the talented should rule for the
sake of a common purpose, for example, is an idea that has its roots
in Plato’s Republic, written in the fourth century BC; a text generally
taken to be the first work of political philosophy in the Western canon.
In addition, the theme of broadening and deepening public engage-
ment in political life can be found throughout the civic-republican
tradition of political thought; a tradition that can claim roots at least as
far back as Roman times. Similarly, the relationship between the state
and the (free) market is an issue that has dominated political thinking
since the early modern period, not least because their respective
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