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Introduction• Neutrality - Idea that in pluralistic society the state should not take sides between different moral, religious or philosophical views• Perfectionism - Idea that the state should favor certain moral idealsLiberal Neutrality: A Historical Overview• Neutrality emerged as an important topic in the 1970's after John Rawls published "Theory of Justice"• In it he argues to avoid perfectionist public policies. And if any state action is justifiable, it must be unanimously approved (Which is really hard in apluralistic society.)• Dworkin's essay "Liberalism" gave neutrality widespread attention• Since people have different conceptions of the 'good life' the state cannot value one conception over another if it is to treat them as equal• The power holder should not assert:• that his conception of good is better than another's• that regardless of his conception of good, he is superior.• State action is justified when it is not bound to the ideals of any particular group, but rather remains neutral between them• Rawls argues there is a difference between a comprehensive doctrine of what individuals value and a political conception of justice which are relatively lesscontroversial. Difference is what values are best, what values can be enforced.The Neutrality Principle• The term "state" can refer to the constitutional structure of a society or simply to the government of the society• Comprehensive neutrality principle (focusing on overall policies of the government) holds that both constitutional structure and state policies should beneutral with regards to what good is• Narrow neutrality principle (focusing on constitutional structure) holds that only the constitutional structure needs to be neutral whereas state policies donot• Conception of the narrow principle rests on the idea that a state's constitution has an enormous impact on the ability of a citizen to pursue their idea ofwhat is good• Many writers stress the coercive nature of the state and therefore we must wonder if the principle should apply to non coercive exercises as well• Some writers suggest we shift the focus from the intentions of state officials to the consequences of policies they support• They argue that the state is only neutral if the justifications of its policies do not claim to have some superior good• Neutrality of justification: The state should not aim to do anything to promote any particular conception of the good, or give greater assistance to those whopursue it, unless a plausible neutral justification can be given for the state's actions• Taken one step further is the neutrality of effect: The state should not do anything that has the effect - regardless of intention - of promoting any particularconception of good• Neutrality of effect seems implausible as usually someone will be disadvantaged by a policy. But it can hold if the person receives compensation for thedisadvantage• Neutrality may need to be compromised for other values• But won't hat defeat the purpose of neutrality?• So long as well-being is not generally compromised the neutrality should be an ideal goal, but we can uphold other values for the sake of well-beingJustifying Neutrality• There are a few ways of justifying the principle of neutrality, but it is agreed that the justification for the principle must be neutral in and of itself• Following Ackerman is the "ecumenical approach" - There is a plurality of "argumentative paths" that all lead to the same neutrality principle and one neednot choose between them• Jeremy Waldron argues against this ecumenical approach stating that different justifications support different aspects of the principle that may not sitwell and that finding the proper justification for neutrality is instrumental in articulating it. But in this case one must argue on particular grounds whichmay not uphold the principle itself.• Following Larmore is the "deductive approach" - That we can find a common conception of good by having minimalist moral considerations therefore givingrespect to all.• The argument against the deductive approach is that groups in a pluralistic society simply have insufficient common moral grounds to derive theneutrality principle into effect and so controversial moral claims will inevitably be drawn in• Neutrality itself is not morally neutral, but rather is a response to ethical disagreement about what the 'good life' is• Neutrality also only holds when people have options to choose their own 'good life' or rather a better life which may indeed be unproductive, but people oftendon't have those options• Dworkin's argument is based on the deductive approach, but rather than justifying it from shared minimal moral commitments, he is focused on thecontroversial considerationsPerfectionism and Politics• All perfectionists hold that the state should favor valuable conceptions of the good• More specifically it promotes that the state should promote excellence and/or assist citizens in their efforts to lead worthwhile lives even if it requirescontroversial political action• Vinit Haksar sats neutrality should be rejected because it is inconsistent with moral equality and because it exaggerates disagreement in determining whichprinciples of political morality are appropriate• Democracy and a liberal state carry with it inherent conceptions of what is good• Perfectionism came into its own with Raz's "The Morality of Freedom"• He points out a logical gap between pluralism and state neutrality in that the former asserts the existence of multiple incompatible ways of life whileallowing for political action to be taken against those ways seen as demeaning.• Make perfectionist argument for the state that may non coercively encourage valuable conduct and discourage disvaluable conduct• Political perfectionism has a case when the leaders are incompetent and the people trust


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Rice PHIL 307 - Liberal Neutrality

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