I can imagine how some will react to the idea of moral politics...
There will be the cynics, who will feel quite witty when they proclaim "Moral Politics, that's an oxymoron!"
Then we'll have some economist, policy-wonk, technocrats responding, "there is no room for morality in politics, we should be making decisions with objective, rational judgment..."
And, since this is a blog named Moral Politics, I welcome such feedback, and I will happily provide a respectful anticipatory response.
In many cases, yes, politics appears to be a very immoral process in which powerful groups ruthlessly seek more power while other groups don't have the resources to influence political decisions. When you look at most political blogs and discussions online, the overwhelming norm is ruthless partisan bickering, character attacks, and language that wouldn't fly at my grandma's dinner table. So, politics and the way we talk about politics can both be highly immoral. But: THIS DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THE CASE. Indeed, our nation's great history has many examples of the government doing the right thing because the American people stood up for it. As for the way we talk about politics, this blog is an effort to fill the void a provide a space where people can talk about moral issues in a moral fashion.
In response to my wonkish friends, I agree with you whole-heartedly that political decisions should always be informed using knowledge developed through rigorous, thoughtful analysis. However, I think it is irresponsible to make political decisions without equally rigorous and thoughtful moral reasoning, because every political decision is embedded with values.
This blog seeks to assess the scientific evidence and the values behind today's public policies in a respectful and reasonable way that I hope you will enjoy.
Let's discuss the 'nature' of politics. I believe that politics are amoral. Morality is about people and issues. Politics is politics is politics and is about how groups and groups within groups and even individuals come to decisions and agree on procedures, legislation, whatever. Politics is about the fact that there is a 'discussion' going on, it is not about the morality of the discussion or the outcome of the discussion. It can be discussion between like-minded people or between people who disagree. Now there can be 'good' politicians and 'bad' politicians in terms of whether they are able to be successful in the outcome of the issue under discussion. And thinking further ... politics can succeed or fail ... the method not the methodology.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback! Your post is an excellent example of what I will call moral political discussion, which is highly encouraged here on the moral politics blog.
ReplyDeleteI think you have presented a thoughtful definition of politics-- it is indeed a discussion and a decision-making process. This aspect of politics is one area where I think morals and values can almost always be found. Morals and values help us choose between options. Certainly there are technical aspects that inform these decisions, but most political decisions have a wide variety of impacts on different people. Moral reasoning must be used to determine which negative impacts are unacceptable and which positive impacts are essential.