Character, Community, and Politics
210 pages, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Paperback
Release Date:03 Dec 2019
ISBN:9780817359621
A classic political philosophy text, available again
The revival of political philosophy has frequently assumed that a theory of human well-being and fulfillment is necessary, preoccupied with questions of epistemology and technical conceptual analysis. In instances where the nature of the human good is considered, the paradigm of autonomous individualism customarily dominates. In Character, Community, and Politics, Cochran moves away from these prevailing ideas to develop a communal theory of political order, helping to redefine a number of fundamental, but often neglected, ideas. Chief among them are commitment, community, responsibility, and character—concepts Cochran develops through discussions of authority, freedom, pluralism, and the common good.
Drawing on a wide variety of fields, such as philosophy, ethics, literature, moral theology, and sociology, the author renews these concepts to outline a theory of human life and political order distinct from sclerotic categories such as conservatism, socialism, radicalism, or Marxism.
The revival of political philosophy has frequently assumed that a theory of human well-being and fulfillment is necessary, preoccupied with questions of epistemology and technical conceptual analysis. In instances where the nature of the human good is considered, the paradigm of autonomous individualism customarily dominates. In Character, Community, and Politics, Cochran moves away from these prevailing ideas to develop a communal theory of political order, helping to redefine a number of fundamental, but often neglected, ideas. Chief among them are commitment, community, responsibility, and character—concepts Cochran develops through discussions of authority, freedom, pluralism, and the common good.
Drawing on a wide variety of fields, such as philosophy, ethics, literature, moral theology, and sociology, the author renews these concepts to outline a theory of human life and political order distinct from sclerotic categories such as conservatism, socialism, radicalism, or Marxism.
Cochran’s book stakes out a political theory of community. Neither epistemology nor intellectual history, it is refreshing in its clear, normative intent.’
—American Political Science Review
Clarke E. Cochran is professor emeritus of Political Science at Texas Tech University. He is coauthor of several books, including American Public Policy: An Introduction and Catholics, Politics, and Public Policy: Beyond Left and Right.
Preface
1. The Problem of Order
2. Human Character
3. Communion and Hospitality
4. Character and Community
5. Authority
6. Freedom
7. Pluralism and the Common Good
8. Politics, Hospitality, and Character
Notes
Bibliography
Index
1. The Problem of Order
2. Human Character
3. Communion and Hospitality
4. Character and Community
5. Authority
6. Freedom
7. Pluralism and the Common Good
8. Politics, Hospitality, and Character
Notes
Bibliography
Index
