Dissertation Chapter 2: What is a Normative Political Theory?

Abstract

This Chapter elucidates and defends the second premise of the Argument from Claims about Interest-Affecting Normative Requirement. The premise runs: A theory is a normative political theory just in case it claims that a certain set of normative requirements ranges over (a) some actions, or (b) some states of affairs, or (c) some ways of life, or (d) some policies, the actualization of which would advance or set back persons' interests (namely, those actions, states of affairs, ways of life, or policies that would, if actualized, make, break, or preserve the general arrangements of a group's affairs), and any normative group economic theory is a normative political theory, and any normative group decision theory is a normative political theory. We shall call this premise the Particular Claims Thesis. The Chapter gives an argument for this Thesis by giving an argument the premises of which are definitions of normative political theory, normative group economic theory, normative group decision theory, and claims that any normative group economic theory is a normative political theory, and any normative group decision theory is a normative political theory. The Chapter argues for each of these premises.