Search Results

Provoking Preferences

John S. Ahlquist and Margaret Levi

in In the Interest of Others: Organizations and Social Activism

This chapter argues that, while some people have specific and deeply held political commitments, most appear to hold only vague or ill-formed beliefs. People revise and act on them only when ... More

This chapter argues that, while some people have specific and deeply held political commitments, most appear to hold only vague or ill-formed beliefs. People revise and act on them only when challenged to do so in particular contexts, and most have not had such an opportunity prior to joining the union. Presenting members with a specific demand to act jointly and coherently forces them to crystallize their preferences and generates information about their own political and industrial efficacy. The chapter presents interview and oral history evidence to document self-reported changes in political beliefs among the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Waterside Workers' Federation rank and file as a result of their union experiences.Less

LIBERALISM AND EXTREME HARMONY

David O. Brink

in Perfectionism and the Common Good: Themes in the Philosophy of T. H. Green

This chapter focuses on Green's liberal political commitments. It is argued that Green's brand of liberalism mixes egalitarian social and economic reforms with a commitment to democratic institutions ... More

This chapter focuses on Green's liberal political commitments. It is argued that Green's brand of liberalism mixes egalitarian social and economic reforms with a commitment to democratic institutions and a system of personal and civic liberties and opportunities. Egalitarian reforms establishing a decent minimum standard of living and a system of state-sponsored education provide each citizen with resources with which to pursue his own self-realization; democratic procedures allow for individual participation in collective decision-making; and individual liberties create space for individual self-determination. This kind of liberal regime would effect a division of moral and political labour that might accommodate the potentially conflicting demands of partiality and impartiality.Less

Introduction: Pursuing Democracy

JOHN NORTH

in Representations of Empire: Rome and the Mediterranean World

This introductory chapter draws attention to Fergus Millar's uncompromising desire for fairness and cooperation in all the societies and all the activities that concern him, and to the generosity ... More

This introductory chapter draws attention to Fergus Millar's uncompromising desire for fairness and cooperation in all the societies and all the activities that concern him, and to the generosity with his time, energy, and intellectual force from which all his contemporaries have benefited, and still benefit, so much. The discussion is also intended to raise some issues of intellectual history: the question of how political commitments on current issues intersect with historical research, even though there seems to be no strictly logical correlation between the two; and also the problems of making a comparison between two historical situations, profoundly different in most respects, which seem all the same to echo one another in quite tangible and, at least theoretically, interesting ways.Less

Jazz Today

Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli

in Free Jazz/Black Power

This chapter describes the state of the jazz scene in the late 1960s, relating the rise of free jazz to the rise of black power politics and culture and other radical developments in the African ... More

This chapter describes the state of the jazz scene in the late 1960s, relating the rise of free jazz to the rise of black power politics and culture and other radical developments in the African American community at the time. Music being at the forefront of African American culture, it is necessarily connected to African American politics.Less

Preface

Mary Douglas

in Jacob's Tears: The Priestly Work of Reconciliation

The author discusses the origin of her book and its purpose, which she describes as setting the two main priestly books of the Pentateuch – the Books of Leviticus and Numbers – in (an ... More

The author discusses the origin of her book and its purpose, which she describes as setting the two main priestly books of the Pentateuch – the Books of Leviticus and Numbers – in (an anthropologist's) context. These Books are regarded by the author as having a strong shared political commitment: the keeping alive of the legendary alliance of the twelve sons of Jacob, and the advocacy of peace with Samaria, at the time when the Second Temple community of Israel was drawing its boundaries and redefining itself as an exclusive religious group and Samaria was standing out as a dangerous enemy. The scheme of this book is described, and the origins of the controversies that have arisen over interpretation of the Pentateuch outlined, along with discussion of the probable views of the priestly editors (both in exile and on return) on ecstatic cults and the resulting reinforcement of the orderly and theorized approach they took to renewing the old religion. The final section of the Preface returns to the theme of problems of translation and meaning and the concerns of the priestly editors in the different chapters of the book.Less

The Failure of a Flourishing Idea: The Decadence of Self-Determination

Timothy William Waters

in Boxing Pandora: Rethinking Borders, States, and Secession in a Democratic World

This chapter traces the origins of current commitments about territory and peoples. The rules and assumptions governing how people think about territory and political community are not immutable; in ... More

This chapter traces the origins of current commitments about territory and peoples. The rules and assumptions governing how people think about territory and political community are not immutable; in fact they are quite recent in origin. Their history, like that of many ideas, is full of reversals of meaning. Thus, the chapter examines how the legal doctrines and political commitments developed historically, to see how people have arrived at the particular system of rules about territory, states, and people that exists today. At the center of this system is the idea of self-determination, but the broader frame concerns rules and justifications for forming and preserving states. It is possible to talk about new states or even secession without invoking self-determination. The term will prove useful, however, when one considers the reasons for making new states: One will find that self-determination provides the underlying logic for why people might want to make new states at all.Less

Partisanship and Political Commitment

Jonathan White and Lea Ypi

in The Meaning of Partisanship

To be a partisan is, first and foremost, to stand in a certain relation to others who share similar views. This chapter introduces the key notion of commitment in this regard. It argues that the ... More

To be a partisan is, first and foremost, to stand in a certain relation to others who share similar views. This chapter introduces the key notion of commitment in this regard. It argues that the democratic ideal of collective self-rule requires political commitment, and that such commitment is sustained and enhanced when agents form a lasting associative relation—when they form a party, in other words. The chapter examines the epistemic and motivational benefits that partisan affiliation bestows. Noting also some of the problems that commitment raises, it argues that if the price of partisan association is a measure of intransigence, the sacrifice of some independence of thought and action, it is a price that is often worth paying.Less

The Prisoner Released

Peter Zinoman

in The Colonial Bastille: A History of Imprisonment in Vietnam, 1862-1940

This chapter examines why so many of the released political prisoners in French Indochina returned to the anticolonial struggle. It suggests that former prisoners' experience of communal ... More

This chapter examines why so many of the released political prisoners in French Indochina returned to the anticolonial struggle. It suggests that former prisoners' experience of communal incarceration, coupled with the efficacy of revolutionary training behind bars, served to deepen the political commitments of many jailed activists. It also discusses the colonial state's mechanism of control that discouraged the reintegration of ex-prisoners into the wider community by undermining their financial prospects and leaving them open to harassment by local officials.Less

Answering for Sense

Jean-Luc Nancy

in A Time for the Humanities: Futurity and the Limits of Autonomy

Jean-Luc Nancy declares that “all writing is committed” — what he means by this notion of commitment exceeds the programmatic sense of “committed writing” that knows in advance how the future should ... More

Jean-Luc Nancy declares that “all writing is committed” — what he means by this notion of commitment exceeds the programmatic sense of “committed writing” that knows in advance how the future should look. This chapter argues that to write is always to respond to, as well as to listen for the voice of an another, which involves an ethical commitment prior to any particular political commitment, just as it involves a consciousness of the non-human agency that resonates by means of any writing. Here the notion of creative autonomy is discredited.Less

Theorizing Social Policy in Development Contexts: A Recognition Approach

Lutz Leisering

in The Global Rise of Social Cash Transfers: How States and International Organizations Constructed a New Instrument for Combating Poverty

A theory of ‘social policy in development contexts’ is a desideratum, since Northern theories cannot be simply applied to the South. This chapter outlines a sociological theory of social policy that ... More

A theory of ‘social policy in development contexts’ is a desideratum, since Northern theories cannot be simply applied to the South. This chapter outlines a sociological theory of social policy that covers North and South. The emphasis is on processes of social recognition, complementing political economy approaches that focus on redistribution. Building on F.-X. Kaufmann, the chapter develops an ‘onion skin model’ that maps the cognitive and normative foundations of social policy on four layers or ‘skins’. The model specifies layered political commitments that reflect recognition of the ‘social’, linked to discursive frames. The argument is that social policy is predicated on the articulation of political commitments to the social at four layers, in conjunction with powerful frames, such as human rights or a collective use for society. To specify the ‘social’, T. H. Marshall’s work on social citizenship is revisited. Ways of measuring theoretical concepts are also discussed.Less

Religious Identification and Politics in the United States

Darren E. Sherkat

in Changing Faith: The Dynamics and Consequences of Americans' Shifting Religious Identities

This chapter examines the influence of religious identification on a person's political commitment. It first considers how religious identities remain an important feature of American politics by ... More

This chapter examines the influence of religious identification on a person's political commitment. It first considers how religious identities remain an important feature of American politics by shaping political beliefs and commitments on a variety of issues as well as partisan identities and voting behavior. It then discusses the ways that religious groups exert their influence on the regulation of sexuality, along with the relationship between ethnicity and religious identification and their impact on political values and commitments. It also explores how religious identification and ethnicity affect patterns of partisanship in the United States and concludes with an assessment of the implications of religious identification for politicized patriarchy, civil liberties, crime and punishment, and mainstream politics.Less

Convergence

Jesse E. Hoffnung-Garskof

in Racial Migrations: New York City and the Revolutionary Politics of the Spanish Caribbean

This chapter considers why Rafael Serra and the others accepted the call to demonstrate patience and forgiveness in the name of national unity. It asks why they chose to promote the idea of a nation ... More

This chapter considers why Rafael Serra and the others accepted the call to demonstrate patience and forgiveness in the name of national unity. It asks why they chose to promote the idea of a nation for all and with all as if it were José Martí's idea rather than their own and how they managed to assert themselves in the nationalist struggle without giving up their right to form independent associations or to demand equal treatment as people of color. The chapter explains that the answers to these questions are not to be found in the intricacies of Martí's writings, but instead in the social worlds built by artisan intellectuals and black migrants over the previous two decades. Men and women in this social world did not just support Martí; they helped to create him. This reveals a complex terrain of interconnected political commitments that were in play on a single extraordinary day—a day when Serra led a group of black and brown constituents to naturalize as U.S. citizens and become Republican voters.Less

Changing State Thinking: Policy Movement towards Right to Information

Himanshu Jha

in Capturing Institutional Change: The Case of the Right to Information Act in India

This chapter examines the emerging processes in the second phase (1989–2005), which is treated as the second and final layer. It shows that the incremental effect of emerging ideas on the state’s ... More

This chapter examines the emerging processes in the second phase (1989–2005), which is treated as the second and final layer. It shows that the incremental effect of emerging ideas on the state’s thinking resulted in tangible policy movements and led to institutional change. We show that in the final stage of layering the transition from ‘opposition’ to ‘mainstream’ politics was consequential in institutional change. Nascent ideas emanating from the ‘opposition politics’ got embedded within the ‘mainstream politics’ resulting in political commitment and tangible policy actions. The rudimentary ideas on the norm of openness matured and were consolidated within the state thinking and reached a tipping point in 2005. The weight and momentum of ideas incrementally rendered the issues of openness and access to official information a sine qua non within the state.Less

On Reading Marx Politically

Sheldon S. Wolin

Nicholas Xenos (ed.)

in Fugitive Democracy: And Other Essays

Critics of Karl Marx have long pointed to unfulfilled predictions as evidence of the falsity of his theory. Typically, their criticism rests on a view that a theory which claims to be scientific is ... More

Critics of Karl Marx have long pointed to unfulfilled predictions as evidence of the falsity of his theory. Typically, their criticism rests on a view that a theory which claims to be scientific is seriously defective if its predictions fail to materialize. This chapter argues that although the ideal of science was undeniably important in shaping Marx's theoretical intentions, there were other and conflicting determinants as well. One was a highly developed notion of theoretical activity or, more precisely, of theorizing as action. Another element in the structure of Marx's intentions is action itself. His earliest thoughts on that subject were not primarily concerned with the proletariat but with the theorist-as-actor. The meaning of theoretic failure was not in Marx's unfulfilled predictions but in the complex fact that faces every interpreter of Marx, that Marx failed to complete his theory. This fact is the expression of a conflict that develops between Marx's theoretical findings and his political commitments.Less

Revolutionary Suicide

Matt Tierney

in Dismantlings: Words against Machines in the American Long Seventies

This chapter talks about revolutionary suicide is not an advocacy for death, but as the idea of a furious collective survival at all costs. Huey P. Newton's phrase describes revolutionary suicide as ... More

This chapter talks about revolutionary suicide is not an advocacy for death, but as the idea of a furious collective survival at all costs. Huey P. Newton's phrase describes revolutionary suicide as a form of political commitment that includes a willingness to endanger oneself. As forms of dismantling, the theories and practices of revolutionary suicide demonstrate how bodies may strike not only against their machines, but also against themselves, if the alternative is to be made into a machine. Revolutionary suicide is the cybercultural self-elimination of one body in response to instrumentalization by another. In a mode of revolutionary suicide, dismantling is a generative protest: not against technology but instead against the instrumentalization of human life through techniques of compulsory motherhood, black slavery, militarized science, and the binding constraints of humanist fiction. In characters' capacity to dismantle themselves, within and against the conventions of genre and story, revolutionary suicide is how texts rupture the stultifying categories of race and reproductive technology in defense of subjugable bodies.Less

Conclusion

Ruth Braunstein

in Prophets and Patriots: Faith in Democracy across the Political Divide

Chapter 7 summarizes the key findings and contributions of the book. First, it highlights the book’s contributions to understanding how broadly shared democratic ideals can refract into different ... More

Chapter 7 summarizes the key findings and contributions of the book. First, it highlights the book’s contributions to understanding how broadly shared democratic ideals can refract into different understandings of what it means to be a good citizen in practice, and ultimately, different styles of engaging in active citizenship. It then discusses the implications of these findings for American democracy itself. Although Interfaith and the Patriots disagree about how democracy ought to work and the proper role of citizens within it, they share an abiding faith in the American democratic project itself. Moreover, the book suggests that this disagreement is not new, and that the complexity of America’s democratic tradition is both a blessing and a curse, fueling perpetual disagreement over what it means to be a good citizen, but also encouraging political commitment. It concludes by suggesting that as long as groups like Interfaith and the Patriots continue to cultivate and enact many different stories of America, and no single story becomes dominant, then citizens can productively interrogate their respective benefits and drawbacks.Less

Is There a Need for Restructuring the Collaboration among the WTO and UN Agencies so as to Harness their Complementarities?

Gary P. Sampson

in Reforming the World Trading System: Legitimacy, Efficiency, and Democratic Governance

This chapter shows that the World Trade Organization (WTO) and United Nations (UN) agencies pursue common goals and could mutually benefit from closer cooperation among the WTO and UN bodies. It ... More

This chapter shows that the World Trade Organization (WTO) and United Nations (UN) agencies pursue common goals and could mutually benefit from closer cooperation among the WTO and UN bodies. It identifies specific areas in which a ‘bottom-up’ approach to collaboration should be pursued complementing the numerous ‘top-down’ political commitments to mutual cooperation among WTO and UN agencies. The need for deviations from WTO rules for non-economic policy reasons should be clarified by WTO Members collectively rather than through WTO litigation. A WTO Group on the Functioning of the WTO System should be set up to make recommendations on how to bring greater coherence to policy-making and improve collaboration among the WTO and UN agencies. The focus of the Doha Round on development needs should help to promote positive synergies in the capacity-building assistance of WTO and UN agencies.Less