This book aims to distil the essentials of liberal constitutionalism from the jurisprudence and practice of contemporary liberal-democratic states. Most constitutional theorists have despaired of a liberal consensus on the fundamental goals of constitutional order. Instead they have contented themselves either with agreement on lower-level principles on which those who disagree on fundamentals may coincidentally converge, or, alternatively with a process for translating fundamental disgreement into acceptable laws. Alan Brudner suggests a conception of fundamental justice that liberals of competing philosophic schools may accept as fulfilling their own basic commitments. He argues that the model liberal-democratic constitution is best understood as a unity of three constitutional frameworks: libertarian, egalitarian, and communitarian. Each of these has a particular conception of public reason. Brudner criticizes each of these frameworks insofar as its organizing conception claims to be fundamental, and moves forward to suggest an Hegelian conception of public reason within which each framework is contained as a constituent element of a whole. When viewed in this light, the liberal constitution embodies a surprising synthesis. It reconciles a commitment to individual liberty and freedom of conscience with the perfectionist idea that the state ought to cultivate a type of personality whose fundamental ends are the goods essential to dignity. Such a reconciliation, the author suggests, may attract competing liberalisms to a consensus on an inclusive conception of public reason under which political authority is validated for those who share a confidence in the individual's inviolable worth.
| ISBN | 0199225796 | | Pages | 464 | | ISBN13 | 9780199225798
(What's this?) | | Volumes | 1 | | Publisher | Oxford University Press | | Weight (grammes) | 692 | | Imprint | Oxford University Press | | Published in | Oxford | | Format | Paperback | | Height (mm) | 234 | | Publication date | 29 Mar 2007 | | Width (mm) | 156 | | Library of Congress | K3165 | | Spine width (mm) | 25 | | DEWEY | 342.001 | | Academic level | Professional / Scholarly | | DEWEY edition | DC22 | |
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Preface; Introduction: The Aim of Constitutional Theory; PART ONE: LIBERTY; 1. The Libertarian Conception of the Public; 2. Constitutional Principles: Civil Rights; 3. Constitutional Principles: Political Rights; PART TWO: EQUALITY; 4. The Egalitarian Principle of Fundamental Justice; 5. Self-Authorship and Substantive Justice; 6. Self-Rule and Procedural Justice; 7. Social and Economic Rights; PART THREE: COMMUNITY; 8. Hegel's Idea of Sittlichkeit ; 9. Sex, Family, and Self-Authorship; 10. The Liberal Duty to Recognize Cultures; 11. Consociationalism; Conclusion
Brudner puts forward two very bold and thought-provoking claims. The first is an attempt to tackle the idea of the priority of basic liberties...The second claim responds to the argument from reasonable disagreement: liberal justice has, according to Brudner, three main components - libertarian, egalitarian, and communitarian - and the three of them should be taken together to form a whole. Canadian Journal of Jurisprudence ..the book demands attention from theoreticans, who are likely to find much stimulation for further thought. It can be recommended to all those political philosophers and constitutional theorists who want a breath of fresh constitutional air.. Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence
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