Arguments and Fists: Political Agency and Justification in Liberal Theory / Edition 1

by Mika LaVaque Manty

Overview

Many theorists have addressed a central concern of current political theory by contending that the dithering intellectualism of left politics prevents genuine political action. Arguments and Fists confronts this concern by refuting these arguments, and reconciling philosophical debates with the realities of current activism. By looking at theorists such as Montesquieu, Kant, Rousseau, the book contradicts current academic debates and also goes against contemporary theory's image of the liberal political agent as a narrowly rational abstraction. Mika LaVaque-Manty also argues that progressive political philosophy and political action go hand in hand. He then ventures past Kant and Rousseau to talk about specific environmental activism, finding middle ground between the two while asserting that the liberal urge for political reform stems from sound philosophical considerations about the nature of politics and isn't the cowardly afterthoughts some theorists have called it. Arguments and Fists then puts these theoretical insights to use, examining environmental justice movements and varieties of environmental radicalism, showing how liberal theory illuminates concrete contemporary political practices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415931991
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/22/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

Mika LaVaque Manty

Table of Contents

Part I. A Critque of Political Agency 1. Agency and Politics—Problems for Liberal Theory? 2. The Scope of the Political Part II. Passions and Reasons 3. If All Are Wicked, How Can They Change? 4. Liberalism Grown Pale and Konigsbergian Part III. No Secret Agents 5. Landfills and Justice Political Arguments, Their Justification, and Liberal Theory 6. On Collective Agency 7. Who Is an Agent? 8. Agency and Liberal Legitimacy Conclusion Endnotes Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

An original and optimistic work-I like this book quite a lot.

Catherine Holland

An impressive piece of work for a first book. It sheds much light on an important and much discussed issue in contemporary liberal thought: political agency and action.

Bernard Yack

The manuscript displays verve, intelligence, erudition, and a good command of debates in ethical philosophy and the history of political thought.

John McCormick

"An orignial and optimistic work: orignial not only in its readings of both classic texts and contemporary pollitical debates, but also in its efforts to make the two speak to one another. It may be that what'scholars of political life need most right now is the kind of optimism Arguments and Fists has to offer. lo—Catherine Holland, University of Missouri."
"An impressive piece of work. Arguments and Fists sheds much light on an important and much discussed issue in contemporary liberal thought: political agency and action. LaVaque-Manty succeeds very well in using his treatment of contemporary environmental politics to show how some of the problems he discusses abstractly actually work themselves our in practice. lo—Bernard Yack, University of Wisconsin-Madison."
"An original and optimistic work-I like this book quite a lot."-Catherine Holland, University of Missouri."
"An impressive piece of work. Arguments and Fists sheds much light on an important and much discussed issue in contemporary liberal thought: political agency and action. LaVaque-Manty succeeds very well in using his treatment of contemporary environemntal politics to how some of the problems he discusses abstractly actually work themselves out in practice. lo—Bernard Yack, University of Wisconsin-Madison."
"An original and optimistic work: orignial not only in its readings of both classic texts and contemporary political debates, but also in its efforts to make the two speak to one another. It may be that what'scholars of political life need most right now is the kind of optimism Arguments and Fists has to offer. lo—Catherine Holland, University of Missouri."
"Factors that exclude individuals from participating in relevant justificatory communities & consequently functioning as political agents under the liberal account of political action are considered, & the question of who or what forces legitimate political action within liberal thought is addressed." — J.W. Parker
"Accomplishes significantly more than previous work has done, and calls attention to an important new direction for development in political theory." — American Political Science Review

From the Publisher