Alasdair MacIntyre and Radically Dialogical Politics

Abstract

In this paper, I show that in the field of political theology, Alasdair MacIntyre is best seen not as the harbinger of an isolated, nostalgic, and conservative politics, but as an advocate of a kind of pluralistic dialog similar to that advocated by adherents of radical democracy. After an overview of MacIntyre's contemporary appropriation of Aristotle, I argue that reading MacIntyre in the light of his rejection of the fact-value distinction helps show the radical (rather than balkanizing) theo-political implications of his work, and dissolves many of the obstacles that might cause one to suspect that MacIntyre's project necessarily leads to withdrawal from pluralistic society. In conclusion, I sketch the contours of a MacIntyrean politics by way of his anthropological insights in Dependent Rational Animals. From this angle, one can see MacIntyre advocating a “local politics of dependence” that does not eschew inter-traditioned dialog, but seeks to enable its occurrence despite the resistance provided by the modern nation-state.