The Place of Negative Morality in Political Theory

Abstract

Are normative political theorists beautiful souls, who escape to rarefied atmosphere of a of moral ideals from of evils, injustice, cruelty, and suffering we regrettably inhabit? Moral philosophers and political theorists are nowadays often confronted with accusations of abstraction and formalism from an ever-growing anti-Kantian faction. But related charge of idealism, once leveled almost as a reflex against normative political theory by realists and Marxist social theorists, is now less frequently encountered in academic circles. Nevertheless, it remains part of popular perception of field by nonacademics, and social scientists often harbor suspicions of this sort concerning strange, unworldly activities of political theorists. Moreover, such suspicions are especially pronounced in political situations in which conflicts seem intractable or very violent.2 Is accusation that normative bent of moral philosophy and political theory renders them unable to come to terms with the real world of cruelty and suffering a valid and interesting criticism? In some of its cruder forms, it clearly is not. If it is intended to imply that concern of philosophers and political theorists with positive moral ideals renders them, like George Bernard Shaw's character, Androcles, simply oblivious to evil surrounding them, then this is obviously false and misleading. A concern with justice or