The Politics After Deconstruction: Rorty, Dewey, and Marx

Abstract

Political theory is often more backward than forward looking, more concerned with the philosophical foundations of political principles than their modus operandi. Such a style of political reflection has many expressions, but most recent and widely familiar are the various contractarian models of social justice found in the writings of authors such as Rawls, Nozick, Dworkin, and Ackerman.1 What unites these otherwise disparate philosophies is the hope that social justice can be grounded in something more solid and permanent than existing norms and conventions. All are instances of foundational political theory. Deliberately cast at the level of ideal theory, more philosophical than political, immensely imaginative about the rational genesis of political principles, honoring above all logical coherence, foundational theory’s goal is to purify political reflection of partisan interests or the influence of any particular locale. Rawls’ veil of ignorance and Ackerman’s conception of a neutral dialogue illustrate this purification process. Each is a device for capturing the methodological highground from which universal value claims can be safely protected from the assaults of historicism and relativism.