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Reasons for Political Friendship.
- Source :
- Ethical Theory & Moral Practice; Jul2023, Vol. 26 Issue 3, p343-359, 17p
- Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Scholarly curiosity about political friendship (the relationship of mutual care among political fellows) is increasing as liberal democracies around the world face radical polarization. Yet one worry persists: can political friendship really exist in contemporary democracies? The objective of this paper is to answer this question in the affirmative. To this end, I investigate whether members of modern polities have reasons to form friendly bonds with one another. The paper has four parts. The first establishes a fundamental desideratum that any consideration must satisfy to count as a reason for political fellows to partake in political friendship. The second evaluates and rejects a line of argument that presents bonds of mutual identification and belonging among political fellows as reasons for political friendship. The third evaluates and rejects a line of argument due to Paul Ludwig that presents the shared utility of political community as a reason for political fellows to engage in friendly practices with one another. Finally, I introduce my own novel argument—the "argument from membership"—for why political fellows have a reason to care for one another. I argue that membership in a functioning political community is indispensably valuable for any individual in virtue of playing a constitutive role in the individual's attainment of their final ends. I hold that, as constituent parts of the same political community, political fellows have a reason to value one another and, accordingly, to care for one another's well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- DEMOCRACY
POLITICAL doctrines
POLITICAL systems
REASON
RATIONALISM
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 13862820
- Volume :
- 26
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Ethical Theory & Moral Practice
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 169945978
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-023-10375-3