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Lessons

David T. Johnson and Franklin E. Zimring

in The Next Frontier: National Development, Political Change, and the Death Penalty in Asia

This chapter makes the case for a regional focus by reviewing the materials in the preceding chapters for insights from Asia about capital punishment in the world in the 21st century. The lessons are ... More

This chapter makes the case for a regional focus by reviewing the materials in the preceding chapters for insights from Asia about capital punishment in the world in the 21st century. The lessons are organized into three sections. The first section describes features of death penalty policy in Asia that are consistent with the experiences recorded in Europe and with the theories developed to explain Western changes. The second section identifies some of the most significant diversities within the Asian region—in rates of execution, trends over time, and patterns of change—that contrast with the recent history of capital punishment in non-Asian locations and hence challenge conventional interpretations of death penalty policy and change. The third section discusses three ways the politics of capital punishment in Asia is distinctive: the limited role of international standards and transnational influences in most Asian jurisdictions; the presence of single-party domination in many Asian political systems; and the persistence of communist versions of capital punishment in the Asian region. Overall, the study of death penalty policy in Asia confirms many of the major themes that have emerged from studies of the postwar European and Commonwealth experiences.Less

The Achievement of Constitutionalism and its Prospects in a Changed World

Dieter Grimm

in The Twilight of Constitutionalism?

This chapter provides an overview of the achievements of constitutionalism, and outlines its central elements of democracy, limited government, and the principle of the rule of law. It argues that ... More

This chapter provides an overview of the achievements of constitutionalism, and outlines its central elements of democracy, limited government, and the principle of the rule of law. It argues that the achievements of constitutionalism are tied to an acknowledgement of its constitutive conditions — the boundary distinctions between public and private, and between internal and external. For this reason, to the extent that statehood is being eroded as a result of the blurring of these boundaries, then constitutionalism must be seen to be in decline. Internationalisation is opening up a gap between the exercise of public power and its modes of legitimation which constitutionalism is unable to close. Constitutionalism, in short, cannot be reconstructed on the international level.Less

Contemporary Conservatism and Government Regulation

Christopher DeMuth

in Crisis of Conservatism?: The Republican Party, the Conservative Movement, and American Politics After Bush

This chapter explores the tension between conservatives’ opposition to the growth of government regulation in principle and their willingness to accommodate it in practice. It focuses especially on ... More

This chapter explores the tension between conservatives’ opposition to the growth of government regulation in principle and their willingness to accommodate it in practice. It focuses especially on this clash in the context of the period of Republican ascendency (1998–2008). The chapter explains why conservatives are hostile to regulation and the various efforts to limit growth as well as reasons for the failure to do so. It offers suggestions for developing conservative ideas and policies on regulation.Less

Introduction

Gilles Saint-Paul

in The Tyranny of Utility: Behavioral Social Science and the Rise of Paternalism

This introductory chapter provides a background to the rise of paternalistic policies. The recent development of paternalism is not devoid of intellectual apparatus. Of all the social sciences, ... More

This introductory chapter provides a background to the rise of paternalistic policies. The recent development of paternalism is not devoid of intellectual apparatus. Of all the social sciences, economics is the one that has traditionally stuck to the individualistic values of the Enlightenment. However, in recent years, a new brand of economics (labeled “behavioral”) departs from those foundations and brings new ammunition to state involvement in private lives. The aim of this book is to explain what behavioral economics is and whether it is dangerous for those who believe in individual freedom and limited government. The chapter also explains utilitarianism. Utilitarianism states that “society” should be organized so as to yield the greatest possible level of welfare, where it is assumed that there is some way of comparing and adding welfare across individuals.Less

Why the Present Budget Policy Is Still the Most Sensible

Yue Chim Richard Wong

in Diversity and Occasional Anarchy: On Deep Economic and Social Contradictions in Hong Kong

Sir John Cowperthwaite, Financial Secretary from 1961 to 1971, said that the aggregate of decisions of individual businessmen in a free economy is more likely to do good than the centralized ... More

Sir John Cowperthwaite, Financial Secretary from 1961 to 1971, said that the aggregate of decisions of individual businessmen in a free economy is more likely to do good than the centralized decisions of a government. The chapter examines the ways in which the Hong Kong government becomes less limited, and analyzes the extent to which it might evolve into a deep contradiction. In additiion, the consequences in terms of economic vitality and economic growth brought by a limited government are also examined.Less

The Morality of American Law

Elizabeth Price Foley

in Liberty for All: Reclaiming Individual Privacy in a New Era of Public Morality

American law is underlain by a morality designed to minimize conflicts between individual privacy and public morality. In order to strike a balance between these competing forces, the structure of ... More

American law is underlain by a morality designed to minimize conflicts between individual privacy and public morality. In order to strike a balance between these competing forces, the structure of this morality must be understood. This chapter examines the legitimate purpose of government and the legitimate scope of governmental power as embodied in the U.S. Constitution. It then explores the scope of individual liberty as well as the concepts of limited government and residual individual sovereignty, individual rights and their existence vis-à-vis the states, the federal Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment, the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, and police power. The chapter also discusses the relationship between federal liberties and state governments, the case of Barron v. Baltimore, the ineffectiveness of state Bills of Rights, and the enactment of the Civil War Fourth Amendment. It concludes by looking at the Supreme Court's selective incorporation approach to the Bill of Rights via the Due Process Clause.Less

Is Modern Liberalism Compatible with Limited Government? The Case of Rawls

Michael P. Zuckert

in Natural Law, Liberalism, and Morality: Contemporary Essays

This chapter discusses John Rawls, a thinker who was responsible for the new egalitarian liberal theory. The discussion includes Rawls' book, A Theory of Justice, in which he presents a number of ... More

This chapter discusses John Rawls, a thinker who was responsible for the new egalitarian liberal theory. The discussion includes Rawls' book, A Theory of Justice, in which he presents a number of arguments that could establish the compatibility of egalitarian liberalism and limited government. This chapter also includes a section on the Difference Principle, which is considered to be the signature doctrine of the Rawls of A Theory of Justice.Less

John Rawls's New Conception of the Problem of Limited Government: Reply to Michael Zuckert

Jeffrey Reiman

in Natural Law, Liberalism, and Morality: Contemporary Essays

This chapter discusses a defence of Rawls's theory against comments and criticisms made by Michael Zuckert. The first section in this chapter features an argument that Rawls' argument for the ... More

This chapter discusses a defence of Rawls's theory against comments and criticisms made by Michael Zuckert. The first section in this chapter features an argument that Rawls' argument for the difference principle and the priority of right over good in A Theory of Justice survives Zuckert's criticisms. The final section in this chapter presents the defence of Rawls's view that the theory is after all a moral conception and not simply a modus vivendi.Less

The Indictment of the American Voter

Paul Goren

in On Voter Competence

A rich line of research in political science and political psychology focuses on how liberal-conservative orientations and issue preferences impact the choices citizens make in U.S. presidential ... More

A rich line of research in political science and political psychology focuses on how liberal-conservative orientations and issue preferences impact the choices citizens make in U.S. presidential elections. This body of work demonstrates that those who know a lot about public affairs are capable of relating their ideological and issue preferences to their votes. Conversely, those who know and care little about public affairs do not engage in these kinds of policy voting. This chapter raises the key question animating the book: how can voters who know little about public affairs come to evaluate presidential candidates on policy grounds. The answer is that there exists a “third face” of policy voting, one centered on core policy principles. These include limited government, traditional morality, and military strength. The chapter previews the theoretical argument and key findings to emerge from the subsequent empirical analyses.Less

The Nature of Limited Government

Leslie Green

in Reason, Morality, and Law: The Philosophy of John Finnis

This chapter explores the moral limits on state action: their sources, character, and stringency. It explains what is special about the liberal tradition of limited government: individuals and groups ... More

This chapter explores the moral limits on state action: their sources, character, and stringency. It explains what is special about the liberal tradition of limited government: individuals and groups must have a protected sphere of action, and governments must respect legality. It argues, against Patrick Devlin, that the possible absence of absolute moral reasons against government intrusion in a sphere is consistent with justified absolute positive limits on intrusion. It argues, against John Finnis, that the fact that some associations (e.g., churches or universities) have intrinsically valuable ‘common goods’ does not entitle them to further immunity from government regulation. It concludes by suggesting why certain ‘natural law’ moralities have been considered unreasonably intrusive, for they neglect the significance of moral fallibility to a theory of limited government.Less

From Slavery to Liberty and Equality: Douglass’s Liberal Democratic Politics

Nicholas Buccola

in The Political Thought of Frederick Douglass: In Pursuit of American Liberty

This chapter draws out the political consequences of Douglass's belief in self-ownership by describing his commitments to individual rights, toleration, and limited, representative government and by ... More

This chapter draws out the political consequences of Douglass's belief in self-ownership by describing his commitments to individual rights, toleration, and limited, representative government and by demonstrating that he rejected anarchist, socialist, perfectionist, and radical democratic alternatives to liberalism. First, liberals believe in the primacy of individual rights to life, liberty, and property. Second, liberals believe religious and moral diversity ought to be tolerated or even celebrated. Third, liberals reject anarchism as a viable option and endorse limited government to protect individual rights. Fourth, liberals believe that democratic government is most likely to protect individual rights, but stop short of the romantic devotion to majority rule that is typical of radical democrats. These points illustrate that Douglass's politics are, in short, liberal.Less

Looming Population Challenges

Yue Chim Richard Wong

in Diversity and Occasional Anarchy: On Deep Economic and Social Contradictions in Hong Kong

It is said that Hong Kong has inherited conflicting legacies from Sir John Cowperthwaite and Sir Philip Haddon-Cave's economic policy and Governor Sir Murray Maclehose's socio-political policy ... More

It is said that Hong Kong has inherited conflicting legacies from Sir John Cowperthwaite and Sir Philip Haddon-Cave's economic policy and Governor Sir Murray Maclehose's socio-political policy framework. The former puts emphasis on a limited government and a competitive free market while the latter underscores an interventionist government and a social welfare state. One of the main realms where the clash between these two legacies manifests itself is in population issues. The housing, education, health care, retirement protection and demographic policies should squarely focus on Hong Kong's population challenges. Nevertheless, the government's response thus far has merely been a slow one, and the patch-up measures have not managed to deal with the deep-rooted conflict between the twin legacies.Less

The General Will Constitution: Rousseau as a Constitutionalist

Ruzha Smilova

in Constitutions and the Classics: Patterns of Constitutional Thought from Fortescue to Bentham

This chapter analyses the constitutional features of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ‘association of the general will’ and addresses the issue of whether and how the tension between popular sovereignty and ... More

This chapter analyses the constitutional features of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ‘association of the general will’ and addresses the issue of whether and how the tension between popular sovereignty and limited government is resolved there. It begins with an account of Rousseau’s arguments for popular sovereignty and outlines the main features of his ‘association of the general will’. It then looks at the issue of constitutional beginning, Firstly, how the sovereign is constituted: how a mere aggregate of individuals becomes an association of the general will with the above properties. Secondly, how its general will is shaped. The godly Legislator as Rousseau’s controversial solution to the problem of constitutional beginning is the focus of the second part of the chapter. The last is organized around the more strictly ‘constitutional’ features of Rousseau’s project.Less

Constitutions and Constitutionalism

András Sajó and Renáta Uitz

in The Constitution of Freedom: An Introduction to Legal Constitutionalism

This chapter discusses the concept of constitutionalism and its relation to legal constitutions. It explains how the terms ‘constitution’ and ‘constitutionalism’ are used before asking what makes a ... More

This chapter discusses the concept of constitutionalism and its relation to legal constitutions. It explains how the terms ‘constitution’ and ‘constitutionalism’ are used before asking what makes a document (whether an agreement or an imposed charter) into a constitution and whether constitutionalism makes government weak. It considers constitutions as a genre of political self-expression and explores how constitutional bargains allow political transition (from an authoritarian/military regime to more traditional constitutional democracy, or the other way around). It also describes the constitutional arrangements of limited government as calculated, rational reactions to fear. It explores how constitutional order is related to social organization and the function of a constitution as an instrument of pre-commitment. Finally, it explores imperfect constitutions and threats to constitutionalism.Less

A New Civic Motherhood?: The Evolution of Conservative Women’s Political Rhetoric

Melissa Deckman

in Tea Party Women: Mama Grizzlies, Grassroots Leaders, and the Changing Face of the American Right

This chapter identifies motherhood frames used by Tea Party women to explain their political activism and to inspire other conservative women and places Tea Party women in historical context.

Completing the Constitution: Progressive-Era Economic Regulation and the Political Perfection of Article I, Section 8

Daniel Carpenter

in The Progressives' Century: Political Reform, Constitutional Government, and the Modern American State

This chapter is meant to be, in part, a counterpoint to the poorly researched and weakly supported myth of an alleged Madison-to-Wilson shift from limited government to social democracy and expansive ... More

This chapter is meant to be, in part, a counterpoint to the poorly researched and weakly supported myth of an alleged Madison-to-Wilson shift from limited government to social democracy and expansive government. These hallucinations not only get the early republic wrong but in fact were debunked a generation ago, by Oscar and Mary Handlin, Willard Hurst, and then Gordon Wood; in addition, William Novak's painstaking inquiries have shown that republican regulation continued through the nineteenth century. These fantasies construct an equally imaginary, radicalized Progressive era, one that underplays critical transformations before 1900 and ignores the role of state governments in the changes that occurred. Progressive-era commercial regulation would not have been possible without the institutional models provided by earlier state laws and agencies, and it would not have succeeded politically without the active participation of state government regulators and elected officials.Less

Introduction: A Nation of Laws, Not Men

Elizabeth Price Foley

in Liberty for All: Reclaiming Individual Privacy in a New Era of Public Morality

This book explores individual privacy versus public morality and whether an individual should be at liberty to act in a manner that does not harm others but is offensive to many. It considers whether ... More

This book explores individual privacy versus public morality and whether an individual should be at liberty to act in a manner that does not harm others but is offensive to many. It considers whether the public, acting through its elected representatives, may enact laws restricting individual liberty because the majority believe that the act is offensive or immoral. The book discusses the significance of limited government and residual individual sovereignty—two foundational principles embodied in the U.S. Constitution—and how they manifest a morality of American law itself. It looks at ordinary laws, which are subordinate to the Constitution and often reflect public morality, and whether they are legitimate exercises of governmental power. The book argues that public morality-based laws are immoral exercises of governmental power and inconsistent with the morality of American law.Less

Civil society

Katherine Fierlbeck

in Globalizing Democracy: Power, Legitimacy and the Interpretation of Democratic Ideas

This chapter investigates the claim that a robust democracy depends upon the ability to ‘strengthen civil society’. It describes how and why civil society has come to be used so widely and with such ... More

This chapter investigates the claim that a robust democracy depends upon the ability to ‘strengthen civil society’. It describes how and why civil society has come to be used so widely and with such enthusiastic hope. A number of conceptual objections to the term are also addressed. The concept of civil society is ‘indispensable’ because it promises ‘a theoretical framework that can anchor what is in the end a common discussion across boundaries’. The idea of civil society is unrepentantly grounded within the history of liberal thought. The proponents of ‘civil society’ must be able to reply to three objections: the definition is too ambiguous; causal relationships are circular or misidentified; and falsifiability is impossible. The concept of ‘civil society’ has been overused and overrated, and remains analytically insubstantial. ‘Civil society’ is a shorthand way of expressing the principle of limited government.Less