Political Morality
Subtitle: A Theory of Liberal Democracy (Political Theory and Contemporary Politics)
Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group
Published: August 15, 2001
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9780826450661
Subjects: Liberalism & centre democratic ideologies; Political science & theory; Politics - Current Events; Political Ideologies - Democracy; Political Science; Politics / Current Events; Politics/International Relations; History & Theory - General; Liberalism; Democracy; Political ethics
Description: "Although liberal democratic polities have an important place in contemporary politics, their justification is contentious. Liberalism and democracy are commonly thought to be inconsistent, or at least in tension with one another; and the reality of liberal democracy is perceived as falling far short of the ideal. In Political Morality, Richard Vernon sets out to show that liberal democracy can make sense as a single political conception, rather than a trade-off between two different values. He also argues that in conceiving of liberal democracy as proposed, other problems inherent in liberalism and in democracy are eased; liberal democracy is not exposed to the same objections as liberalism and it can avoid some of the paradoxes that are said to plague democratic theory. The book also points to some of the ways in which polities currently termed 'liberal democracies' fall clearly short of the values that might legitimize them."--Bloomsbury Publishing.