Political Political Theory: Essays on Institutions

by Jeremy Waldron

Overview

Political theorists focus on the nature of justice, liberty, and equality while ignoring the institutions through which these ideals are achieved. Political scientists keep institutions in view but deploy a meager set of value-conceptions in analyzing them. A more political political theory is needed to address this gap, Jeremy Waldron argues.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674743854
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/07/2016
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Jeremy Waldron is University Professor in the School of Law at New York University.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 Political Political Theory 1

2 Constitutionalism: A Skeptical View 23

3 Separation of Powers and the Rule of aw 45

4 Bicameralism and the Separation of Powers 72

5 The Principle of Loyal Opposition 93

6 Representative Lawmaking 125

7 Principles of Legislation 145

8 Accountability and Insolence 167

9 The Core of the Case against Judicial Review 195

10 Five to Four: Why Do Bare Majorities Rule on Courts? 246

11 Isaiah Berlin's Neglect of Enlightenment Constitutionalism 274

12 The Constitutional Politics of Hannah Arendt 290

Notes 309

Index 385

Editorial Reviews

The problem with revolutionary politics, in short, is that it tends to be naïve about political institutions. I can recommend no better corrective than liberal political philosopher Jeremy Waldron, and no better introduction to his thinking than his recently published collection of essays, Political Political Theory… To read Waldron is to reawaken ideas that so shape our world that they typically only live in the background of political theory and debate. It is to survey the pantheon of constitutional liberalism—Locke, Montesquieu, Condorcet, Madison, Kant, Mill, et al.—to step into their shoes and think hard about bicameralism, bills of rights, and judicial review, and appreciate the enormity of their intellectual and real-world achievements.
-- David V. Johnson Dissent

This is a brilliant book. It will excite readers and spark a revival of constitutional concerns that people might once have believed had been consigned to the history of ideas.
-- Marc Stears, University of Oxford

From the Publisher

The problem with revolutionary politics, in short, is that it tends to be naïve about political institutions. I can recommend no better corrective than liberal political philosopher Jeremy Waldron, and no better introduction to his thinking than his recently published collection of essays, Political Political Theory… To read Waldron is to reawaken ideas that so shape our world that they typically only live in the background of political theory and debate. It is to survey the pantheon of constitutional liberalism—Locke, Montesquieu, Condorcet, Madison, Kant, Mill, et al.—to step into their shoes and think hard about bicameralism, bills of rights, and judicial review, and appreciate the enormity of their intellectual and real-world achievements.

Dissent - David V. Johnson

This is a brilliant book. It will excite readers and spark a revival of constitutional concerns that people might once have believed had been consigned to the history of ideas.

Marc Stears