Chapter Nine:
Liberalism and the Decline of Political Philosophy
1. Wolin begins the chapter with a
description of a broad trend: Òthe erosion of the distinctly political.Ó (p. 260) In these first few pages, what does he say that Hobbes
ÔmissedÕ? What did Hobbes
ÔgetÕ? He repeats this comparison
with a description of how the social sciences are commonly with respect to
traditional political theory. What
is this distinction?
2. One interpretation of the central argument of this chapter: it
is about how liberals killed political philosophy. (see p. 261)
What, for example, was the contribution of Adam Smith in the diminution
of political philosophy?
3. Wolin tells us (262-3) that it is not just political
philosophy that has been encroached upon by other disciplines. This happened to philosophy, as
well. He suggests that Locke was
the pivotal figure in this shift.
How so?
4. Wolin describes an important liberal notion of the limits of
reason (pp. 266-8). How do
liberals differ from more radical democrats? What is WolinÕs claim that Calvinists underwent a similar
shift (to that of liberals) in focusing attention to the practical details of
living in the here and now? (He
describes this, at p. 268, as Òturning philosophy outwardsÓ.
5. What, according to Wolin, was truly radical about
liberalism? (p. 270) Note a point of emphasis a little
further down on the page, a favorite quote: Ò[I]t is not justice which has a real existence, but
injustice.Ó
6. Why does the new emphasis on the central role of economic
activity reduce the scope of (or even eradicate) political concepts? (pp. 271-3)
7. How does LockeÕs Òstate of natureÓ argument depreciate the
status of the political? (pp.
274-7) What is the significance of
claiming that the society and a majority within it are prepolitical?
8. Very significant section: According to Locke, what is the importance of the
institution of property in liberalism?
(pp. 278-81)
9. The section from pp. 282-292, ÒLiberalism and Anxiety,Ó deserves
to be considered as an argument all on its own. Write an abstract of the argument. When going through the argument, consider the basic
assumptions about the relationship between humans and Ònature.Ó What did people like Malthus, Dewey,
Freud and Mill have to say about this relationship? Note that liberals need to find a way to soften the
consequences of scarcity (288-9).
What, according to Wolin, are the main avenues for this?
10. In the section on Òthe problem of painÓ (292-7) Wolin claims
that liberals worried a great deal about uncertainty (uncertainty about pain,
and about status), and not so much about equality. Why? From a
different perspective, one could say that this feature of liberalism is about
turning away from the suffering of others, and emphasizing the possible
suffering of the self. Is that a
fair judgment?
11. An enduring theme in western political philosophy, as the
tradition is usually conceived, is that Òdesire is the enemy.Ó (Please recall the chant.) Liberals generally acknowledge that
human passions play a large and usually dominant role in our thinking. How does this idea emerge in Locke? (pp. 297-300) What are the consequences of the Lockean position that human
reasoning is, for most of us, corrupted?
(see note 157 on p. 300; and remind yourself of LockeÕs Second Treatise,
paragraphs 124-5, 136)
12. What does Wolin mean when he says that conscience became
social, rather than individual?
(near the top of 303. The
argument runs from p. 301-7.)
13. Wolin describes three elements of liberal conformity (on p.
307). What are they?
14. Conformity becomes, for liberalism, a way to make sense of
authority and legitimacy. How
so? (p. 308-11)
15. Wolin closes the chapter by describing MillÕs encounter with
social conformity, and his inadequate response to it. For those of you familiar with the communitarian approach to
political philosophy, the charge is often made that Ôliberals donÕt do
community.Õ Wolin suggests that if
Mill could not adequately confront the problem of social conformity, we should
not expect others to do it very well.
What does Wolin mean by his charge that liberals have lost a sense of
community? (314)
Chapter Ten: The Age of Organization and the Sublimation
of Politics
1. Wolin begins the chapter with a
warning. What is it? (315) Considering claims in section I, we see
he hit some (social classes and equality not important to us, 317 & 319)
and missed some (close collaboration of administrators and scientists, 317; a
wholesale reaction to the politics of interest, 319). Remember this chapter was written before the development of
the conservative reaction to activist government, among other developments (a
reference to the theme of Pierson and Skocpol, The Transformation of American Politics,
Princeton 2007). Wolin does
address these many themes in the new chapters.
2.
How do ideologies keep us from seeing? (320) In
section II, list the ways that the concept of ÒsocietyÓ was Òglorified.Ó What did this keep people from seeing? (319-325)
3. Theorists of very different persuasions
have focused on the importance of Òorganization.Ó Why? (325-9) Note, in the middle of p. 329, that
this presents a theoretical problem remarkably similar to the one Calvin tried
to resolve. (See chapter 6
question 4, above.)
4. Rousseau (and later, others) is used by
Wolin to show that in the modern era theorists are concerned that the moral
person is not the individual. What
is it? What does that mean?
(330-4)
5. Wolin describes what Rousseau meant by
Ôfreedom.Õ What is it? 334-6. What is the problem of freedom for which this is an
answer?
6. Wolin notes that a tight focus on
organization is a shift away from the then-current preoccupation of Western
political theory with equality.
(337-8) Why? (up to 341)
7. This new answer to an old question
(about that it means to be rational, pp. 341-2) appears to be similar to the
point raised back in chapter 9, at p. 303. Do you agree?
8. Section VII (342-7) invites you to
consider the similarities between organization theory and social science
methodology. What does methodology
do to our thinking? (344) Note he claims, p. 345, that one
feature of methodology Òmight not appear at all oddÓ (start of last full
paragraph). Should this seem odd? Why? One consequence of the approach is what Wolin calls, at 347,
an ÒOlympian ruthlessness.Ó Is
this an essential part of the theorists he refers to?
9. According to Wolin, what do
constitutions do? Which of these
elements is the main focus of modern theories? (348)
10. What is missing from modern theories of
constitutionalism, according to Wolin?
Why? (349-52)
11. You can tell that Wolin finds some theorists
more persuasive than others. What
does he mean by referring to Utopian SocialistsÕ Òpathetic attempts to unite
the incompatibles of power, desire, and communityÓ? (353) You can
see the importance of the point when he describes the modern direction of
coping with these Ôincompatibles,Õ mainly through a focus on using power over
people to promote stability.
(356-9) [And, the first
typographical error I found is on page 359, at the end of that first paragraph.
]
12. Section X describes a shift from a
focus on economic
rationalism to one of social systems. How
are individuals and organizations viewed in these two concepts? (360-4)
13. Section XI and XII (364-76) are focused
on an issue that seemed more at the forefront in the political theory of
1960. You will perhaps see that
the tendencies Wolin describes (a Hobbesian view vs. an organic view of
authority) is still alive in organization theory, although its connections to
political theory have faded. The
last chapters of the book shows a different view of organizations. An important part of it is the
observations on a retreat from political categories, without much concern for
how this would dramatically increase the power of the state. (372-4)
14. Wolin suggests the importance of the connection
between organization theory and political theory in the penultimate section
(376-84). The leading organization
theory of the time seemed Òpost-MarxianÓ in the sense that the view of regular
people is more Leninist than Marxist.
What does that mean?
(376-9)
15. What is the ÒnostalgiaÓ in Weber that
Wolin refers to? (380)
16. Wolin suggests that modern organization
theory, at least in Selznick, is Lenin turned upside down. What does that mean? (383)
17.
The themes in previous 50 pages are summarized on pp. 384-9. Read through this section and keep a
list of items that seem to have been overcome by history—things that, 50
years later, just donÕt ring true.
We will discuss the patterns in our lists.