A Vindication of Politics - (American Political Thought) by Matthew D Wright (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Natural law political theory grounds the authority of law in the law's capacity to advance the common good, but questions about what this common good is and how it relates to political life remain highly contested. The influential new natural law theory of John Finnis reduces political association to the operation of government and makes it a merely instrumental good that serves to secure and facilitate individual and social goods. Political community, on this account, does not realize any further human good not already experienced in smaller human communities. In A Vindication of Politics, Matthew Wright challenges this account and argues that political community itself realizes an aspect of social life intrinsic to full human flourishing. Wright develops an account of the political common good that is both inclusivist and distinctive--that is to say, it includes within its orbit the diverse goods of individuals and other associations, and it recognizes the good of the political association itself. Drawing on the work of Edmund Burke and the example of Abraham Lincoln, Wright argues that political community has its own distinctive goods, including civic friendship and political culture, embodied in its history, institutions, practices, and ideals. Individuals do not have to run for office to be engaged in the political common good. Participation in the vibrant cultural life of one's political community is an intrinsic part of the common good"--

Book Synopsis

Is politics strictly a means to an end--something that serves only the interests of individuals and the various associations of civil society such as families and charities? Or is a society's political common good an end in itself, an essential component of full human flourishing? Responding to recent influential arguments for the instrumentality of the political common good, Matthew D. Wright's A Vindication of Politics addresses a lacuna in natural law political theory by foregrounding the significance of political culture. Rather than an activity defined by law and government, politics emerges in this account as a cultural enterprise that connects generations and ennobles our common life.

The instrumentalist argument, in Wright's view, does not give a plausible account of, among other things, the value of patriotism--of the way Americans revere the Founders, for instance, or love the Declaration of Independence, or idolize Abraham Lincoln. Such political affections cannot be explained by an instrumental common good. Loyalty to one's country is not like a commitment to a telephone company. As nasty as politics can be, we hope for more from it than the quid pro quo of a business transaction. To arrive at an adequate theoretical account of why that is, Wright brings historical theory from Aristotle to Burke into conversation with contemporary theorists from John Finnis to Amy Gutmann. In A Vindication of Politics he develops a case for the intrinsic value of politics in a way that underwrites a healthy patriotism--and strongly suggests that the political common good is a critical part of what it means to be fully human.

The book offers new insight into the nature of the political common good and human sociability as well as their importance for making sense of the fundamental questions of American constitutional identity, principles, and aspirations.

Review Quotes

"The most interesting and valuable aspect of A Vindication of Politics is Wright's argument that civic friendship is most fully realized by participating in a political tradition."--Perspectives on Politics

"This book could not be more timely. [It] is an important contribution to the ongoing conversations in political philosophy on the relationship between politics and human flourishing."--Philosophia Christi

"Wright vindicates a politics that should at least render citizens--whatever their disputes over law--less disposed to view one another as enemies."--Review of Politics

"If one wants to get past the seemingly unending semantic debates over the meaning of liberalism to the far more interesting and important substantive issues, A Vindication of Politics is an excellent place to look."--Law and Liberty

"Drawing on the contributions of Aristotle, Aquinas, Finnis, MacIntyre, and Burke, among others, Wright offers a route toward reconnecting the political with a revitalized natural law."--Choice

"You will be hearing again from Matthew Wright. This brilliant book takes up some of the thorniest issues in political theory: The relation between the individual and common flourishing, and whether political association is good in itself or just a means to other ends. The approach is fresh, and I will long be pondering its insights."--J. Budziszewski, University of Texas at Austin, author of Commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Treatise on Law

"Matthew Wright gives a careful account and a mostly persuasive defense of civic friendship, which barely stumbles along under the conditions of early 21st century democracies. I profited from it immensely."--Russell Hittinger, Warren Chair of Catholic Studies, University of Tulsa