Abstract
Realist thinkers in political philosophy often criticize ideal theorists for neglecting or eliminating the fact of politics in their work. This is supposed to be problematic because we should never expect to overcome politics. Any theory that attempts to do so is said to be unrealistic, naïve, and impractical. Although much has been said in the dispute between realists and ideal theorists in recent years, this particular line of criticism, which should be distinguished from other criticisms of ideal theory, has not been clearly or explicitly addressed by ideal theorists in the literature. I deal with this issue by examining the ideal theory of John Rawls, which has been a prominent target of realist criticisms. My aim is to see where politics exists, or might exist, in Rawls’s theory, and whether this politics satisfactorily answers to the various aspects of the realist’s critique. My analysis suggests that there may be no inherent or necessary conflict between ideal theory and real politics, after all.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Robert Murray, Alex Wellington, and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions on previous versions of this article. I also want to thank Hasko von Kriegstein for advice during the publication process.
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Articles in the same Issue
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- Hybrid Ethical Theory and Cohen’s Critique of Rawls’s Egalitarian Liberalism
- Ideal Theory and Real Politics: The Politics in Political Liberalism
- Are Radical Realists Hypocrites about Intuition-Dependence?
- The Deliberative Duty and Other Individual Antidiscrimination Duties in the Dating Sphere
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- Situating the Moral Basis for Secession in Territorial Rights: A Dualist and Nonalienation Account
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Hybrid Ethical Theory and Cohen’s Critique of Rawls’s Egalitarian Liberalism
- Ideal Theory and Real Politics: The Politics in Political Liberalism
- Are Radical Realists Hypocrites about Intuition-Dependence?
- The Deliberative Duty and Other Individual Antidiscrimination Duties in the Dating Sphere
- Dimensions of Global Justice in Taxing Multinationals
- Situating the Moral Basis for Secession in Territorial Rights: A Dualist and Nonalienation Account
- Moral Reasoning in the Climate Crisis: A Personal Guide
- Is It Wrong to Benefit from Injustice?
- Self-Respect and the Importance of Basic Liberties
- Why Military Conditioning Violates the Human Dignity of Soldiers