In Taking Rights Seriously Dworkin claimed that people had strong rights to disobey the law so th... more In Taking Rights Seriously Dworkin claimed that people had strong rights to disobey the law so that the government would be wrong to punish anyone who exercised them. This claim raises fundamental questions about the source of obligation and the limits of legitimacy. These questions of political theory have been given surprisingly little attention by him or his critics. I examine whether strong rights make any sense and conclude that his political theory cannot even generate the minimal prima facie obligation necessary to justify coercion, and hence, law. My solution is to interpret justice in the same way as law. Dworkin resists what I call Justice as Integrity because of concerns about ethical relativism. By considering his more recent works on objectivity and moral truth, I attempt to show that Dworkin's aversion to Moral Constructivism is based on an undue fear of the uncertainty of social practices and an undue faith in the certainty of empirical observation. By reconstructing the interpretive derivations of justice I offer a method to make the idea of obligation, strong rights, and hence, law as integrity, more viable.
SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tole... more SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tolerance and the Moral Momentum of Law David Fagelson State University of New York Press ... Published by State University of New York Press, Albany Chapter 4 reprinted by permission of Sage ...
Governance and the Economy in Africa:Tools for Analysis and Reform of Corruption. Contents. Forew... more Governance and the Economy in Africa:Tools for Analysis and Reform of Corruption. Contents. Foreword, by Anne Williams, USAID Mission Director, Dakar, Senegal; About this Volume; Chapter 1: Governance, Development, and the Quality of Institutions; ...
The idea of Westphalian sovereignty has been waning in the face of renewed support for individual... more The idea of Westphalian sovereignty has been waning in the face of renewed support for individual human rights. One of the more audacious proposals for a new international order is offered by John Rawls, who calls for a Society of Peoples governed by public reason. I explore this new foundation for international relations by considering how much respect we owe to other peoples who, while hierarchical and illiberal, are not criminally responsible for the violation of fundamental human rights. The respect for intolerance and hierarchy demanded of liberal peoples exposes a flaw of Rawls' new world order. The remedy, I suggest, requires us to abandon the search for some overlapping political consensus of all the world's comprehensive doctrines. Liberals must defend basic rights to freedom and equality not because they are reasonable, which some peoples will never accept, but because they enhance human well being and are, therefore, just.
Do government officials, who have taken an affirmative oath to uphold the constitution, have any ... more Do government officials, who have taken an affirmative oath to uphold the constitution, have any legitimate claim to disobey the law? We argue that they do. Indeed, the nature of law itself requires officials to have some mechanism to enforce the secondary rules or if one prefers, the associative obligations, upon which their authority is based. When institutional structures and official behavior makes it impossible for officials to subordinate government activity to the rule of law, then other officials may be excused from legal constraints for the limited purpose of ensuring accountability. We use arguments from legal, constitutional and political theory to illustrate this narrow excuse.
Citizens United has stimulated a cottage industry of legal scholarship on corruption. A prominent... more Citizens United has stimulated a cottage industry of legal scholarship on corruption. A prominent stream of this literature is self-consciously atheoretical and suggests that the current state of c...
SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tole... more SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tolerance and the Moral Momentum of Law David Fagelson State University of New York Press ... Published by State University of New York Press, Albany Chapter 4 reprinted by permission of Sage ...
Many of the policies of the “War on Terror” have been controversial because of their possible vio... more Many of the policies of the “War on Terror” have been controversial because of their possible violation of the law and redistribution of power amongst the different branches of government. In this article I show that the problem with these policies goes much deeper. By showing the necessary conceptual elements of law, I show that many of these policies, are not simply illegal but they fail to be law governed at all by any conception of law. This violates the foundations of American constitutionalism that subordinates every government action to the rule of law.
The justifications for foreign policies, like clothing styles, seem to go in cycles. While "... more The justifications for foreign policies, like clothing styles, seem to go in cycles. While "nation building" was temporarily out of fashion at the beginning of the Bush administration, it is once again de rigueur. Indeed, the justification for the second Iraq war has gravitated away ...
Governance and the Economy in Africa:Tools for Analysis and Reform of Corruption. Contents. Forew... more Governance and the Economy in Africa:Tools for Analysis and Reform of Corruption. Contents. Foreword, by Anne Williams, USAID Mission Director, Dakar, Senegal; About this Volume; Chapter 1: Governance, Development, and the Quality of Institutions; ...
Abstract. The idea of Westphalian sovereignty has been waning in the face of renewed support for ... more Abstract. The idea of Westphalian sovereignty has been waning in the face of renewed support for individual human rights. One of the more audacious proposalsforanewinternationalorderisofferedbyJohnRawls,whocallsfor a Society of ...
Many of the policies of the “War on Terror” have been controversial because of their possible vio... more Many of the policies of the “War on Terror” have been controversial because of their possible violation of the law and redistribution of power amongst the different branches of government. In this article I show that the problem with these policies goes much deeper. By showing the necessary conceptual elements of law, I show that many of these policies, are not simply illegal but they fail to be law governed at all by any conception of law. This violates the foundations of American constitutionalism that subordinates every government action to the rule of law.
Do government officials, who have taken an affirmative oath to uphold the constitution, have any ... more Do government officials, who have taken an affirmative oath to uphold the constitution, have any legitimate claim to disobey the law? We argue that they do. Indeed, the nature of law itself requires officials to have some mechanism to enforce the secondary rules or if one prefers, the associative obligations, upon which their authority is based. When institutional structures and official behavior makes it impossible for officials to subordinate government activity to the rule of law, then other officials may be excused from legal constraints for the limited purpose of ensuring accountability. We use arguments from legal, constitutional and political theory to illustrate this narrow excuse.
In Taking Rights Seriously Dworkin claimed that people had strong rights to disobey the law so th... more In Taking Rights Seriously Dworkin claimed that people had strong rights to disobey the law so that the government would be wrong to punish anyone who exercised them. This claim raises fundamental questions about the source of obligation and the limits of legitimacy. These questions of political theory have been given surprisingly little attention by him or his critics. I examine whether strong rights make any sense and conclude that his political theory cannot even generate the minimal prima facie obligation necessary to justify coercion, and hence, law. My solution is to interpret justice in the same way as law. Dworkin resists what I call Justice as Integrity because of concerns about ethical relativism. By considering his more recent works on objectivity and moral truth, I attempt to show that Dworkin's aversion to Moral Constructivism is based on an undue fear of the uncertainty of social practices and an undue faith in the certainty of empirical observation. By reconstructing the interpretive derivations of justice I offer a method to make the idea of obligation, strong rights, and hence, law as integrity, more viable. proposed, they make them more viable.
SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tole... more SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tolerance and the Moral Momentum of Law David Fagelson State University of New York Press ... Published by State University of New York Press, Albany Chapter 4 reprinted by permission of Sage ...
In Taking Rights Seriously Dworkin claimed that people had strong rights to disobey the law so th... more In Taking Rights Seriously Dworkin claimed that people had strong rights to disobey the law so that the government would be wrong to punish anyone who exercised them. This claim raises fundamental questions about the source of obligation and the limits of legitimacy. These questions of political theory have been given surprisingly little attention by him or his critics. I examine whether strong rights make any sense and conclude that his political theory cannot even generate the minimal prima facie obligation necessary to justify coercion, and hence, law. My solution is to interpret justice in the same way as law. Dworkin resists what I call Justice as Integrity because of concerns about ethical relativism. By considering his more recent works on objectivity and moral truth, I attempt to show that Dworkin's aversion to Moral Constructivism is based on an undue fear of the uncertainty of social practices and an undue faith in the certainty of empirical observation. By reconstructing the interpretive derivations of justice I offer a method to make the idea of obligation, strong rights, and hence, law as integrity, more viable.
SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tole... more SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tolerance and the Moral Momentum of Law David Fagelson State University of New York Press ... Published by State University of New York Press, Albany Chapter 4 reprinted by permission of Sage ...
Governance and the Economy in Africa:Tools for Analysis and Reform of Corruption. Contents. Forew... more Governance and the Economy in Africa:Tools for Analysis and Reform of Corruption. Contents. Foreword, by Anne Williams, USAID Mission Director, Dakar, Senegal; About this Volume; Chapter 1: Governance, Development, and the Quality of Institutions; ...
The idea of Westphalian sovereignty has been waning in the face of renewed support for individual... more The idea of Westphalian sovereignty has been waning in the face of renewed support for individual human rights. One of the more audacious proposals for a new international order is offered by John Rawls, who calls for a Society of Peoples governed by public reason. I explore this new foundation for international relations by considering how much respect we owe to other peoples who, while hierarchical and illiberal, are not criminally responsible for the violation of fundamental human rights. The respect for intolerance and hierarchy demanded of liberal peoples exposes a flaw of Rawls' new world order. The remedy, I suggest, requires us to abandon the search for some overlapping political consensus of all the world's comprehensive doctrines. Liberals must defend basic rights to freedom and equality not because they are reasonable, which some peoples will never accept, but because they enhance human well being and are, therefore, just.
Do government officials, who have taken an affirmative oath to uphold the constitution, have any ... more Do government officials, who have taken an affirmative oath to uphold the constitution, have any legitimate claim to disobey the law? We argue that they do. Indeed, the nature of law itself requires officials to have some mechanism to enforce the secondary rules or if one prefers, the associative obligations, upon which their authority is based. When institutional structures and official behavior makes it impossible for officials to subordinate government activity to the rule of law, then other officials may be excused from legal constraints for the limited purpose of ensuring accountability. We use arguments from legal, constitutional and political theory to illustrate this narrow excuse.
Citizens United has stimulated a cottage industry of legal scholarship on corruption. A prominent... more Citizens United has stimulated a cottage industry of legal scholarship on corruption. A prominent stream of this literature is self-consciously atheoretical and suggests that the current state of c...
SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tole... more SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tolerance and the Moral Momentum of Law David Fagelson State University of New York Press ... Published by State University of New York Press, Albany Chapter 4 reprinted by permission of Sage ...
Many of the policies of the “War on Terror” have been controversial because of their possible vio... more Many of the policies of the “War on Terror” have been controversial because of their possible violation of the law and redistribution of power amongst the different branches of government. In this article I show that the problem with these policies goes much deeper. By showing the necessary conceptual elements of law, I show that many of these policies, are not simply illegal but they fail to be law governed at all by any conception of law. This violates the foundations of American constitutionalism that subordinates every government action to the rule of law.
The justifications for foreign policies, like clothing styles, seem to go in cycles. While "... more The justifications for foreign policies, like clothing styles, seem to go in cycles. While "nation building" was temporarily out of fashion at the beginning of the Bush administration, it is once again de rigueur. Indeed, the justification for the second Iraq war has gravitated away ...
Governance and the Economy in Africa:Tools for Analysis and Reform of Corruption. Contents. Forew... more Governance and the Economy in Africa:Tools for Analysis and Reform of Corruption. Contents. Foreword, by Anne Williams, USAID Mission Director, Dakar, Senegal; About this Volume; Chapter 1: Governance, Development, and the Quality of Institutions; ...
Abstract. The idea of Westphalian sovereignty has been waning in the face of renewed support for ... more Abstract. The idea of Westphalian sovereignty has been waning in the face of renewed support for individual human rights. One of the more audacious proposalsforanewinternationalorderisofferedbyJohnRawls,whocallsfor a Society of ...
Many of the policies of the “War on Terror” have been controversial because of their possible vio... more Many of the policies of the “War on Terror” have been controversial because of their possible violation of the law and redistribution of power amongst the different branches of government. In this article I show that the problem with these policies goes much deeper. By showing the necessary conceptual elements of law, I show that many of these policies, are not simply illegal but they fail to be law governed at all by any conception of law. This violates the foundations of American constitutionalism that subordinates every government action to the rule of law.
Do government officials, who have taken an affirmative oath to uphold the constitution, have any ... more Do government officials, who have taken an affirmative oath to uphold the constitution, have any legitimate claim to disobey the law? We argue that they do. Indeed, the nature of law itself requires officials to have some mechanism to enforce the secondary rules or if one prefers, the associative obligations, upon which their authority is based. When institutional structures and official behavior makes it impossible for officials to subordinate government activity to the rule of law, then other officials may be excused from legal constraints for the limited purpose of ensuring accountability. We use arguments from legal, constitutional and political theory to illustrate this narrow excuse.
In Taking Rights Seriously Dworkin claimed that people had strong rights to disobey the law so th... more In Taking Rights Seriously Dworkin claimed that people had strong rights to disobey the law so that the government would be wrong to punish anyone who exercised them. This claim raises fundamental questions about the source of obligation and the limits of legitimacy. These questions of political theory have been given surprisingly little attention by him or his critics. I examine whether strong rights make any sense and conclude that his political theory cannot even generate the minimal prima facie obligation necessary to justify coercion, and hence, law. My solution is to interpret justice in the same way as law. Dworkin resists what I call Justice as Integrity because of concerns about ethical relativism. By considering his more recent works on objectivity and moral truth, I attempt to show that Dworkin's aversion to Moral Constructivism is based on an undue fear of the uncertainty of social practices and an undue faith in the certainty of empirical observation. By reconstructing the interpretive derivations of justice I offer a method to make the idea of obligation, strong rights, and hence, law as integrity, more viable. proposed, they make them more viable.
SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tole... more SUNY series in American Constitutionalism Robert J. Spitzer, editor ... Justice as Integrity Tolerance and the Moral Momentum of Law David Fagelson State University of New York Press ... Published by State University of New York Press, Albany Chapter 4 reprinted by permission of Sage ...
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