David Estlund contra a "Utopofobia" na Teoria Política

Na última edição da Philosophy & Public Affairs, David Estlund (Brown) publicou o artigo "Utopophobia" no qual retoma sua reflexão, iniciada em seu livro Democratic Authority, sobre a natureza e os limites de idealizações na teoria política. Para Estlund, posições "realistas" ou "utopofóbicas" tendem a confundir os critérios de verdade sobre algo (ex. justiça, legitimidade, etc.), com os meios mais adequados para sua realização no mundo real. Mais uma contribuição importante para o debate entre "teorias ideais" e "não-ideais".

- Estlund: "Utopophobia" 

[...]
My thesis is that moral theories of social justice political authority, political legitimacy, and many other moral-political concepts are not shown to have any defect in virtue of the fact, if it is one, that the alleged requirements or preconditions of these things are not likely ever to be met. If a theory of social justice is offered, and it is objected, “But you and I both know people will never do that,” I believe the right response is (as a starter), “I never said they would.”

I focus narrowly on the question of likelihood. This is not because there is a set of authors who explicitly impose a likelihood constraint on theorizing about justice. Rather, there is a heterogeneous antipathy in much traditional and contemporary political philosophy for accounts (of which there are also many) of justice according to which it is nothing we have ever seen or ever expect to see. Recently, this point of view plays a role in the burgeoning literature about the idea of political feasibility, and in the so-called ideal/nonideal theory debate about social justice. I conjecture that a tempting idea underlying some of this antipathy is, roughly, that a sound standard of social justice must be something it would be appropriate to set as a practical social goal. Since the likelihood of success is (as I grant) a criterion of appropriate practical goals, likelihood of achieving justice would emerge, on this view, as a constraint on a sound conception of the content of justice. But then, put the other way around, if I am right that likelihood is no such constraint, then it is a mistake to suppose that a sound standard of justice must be an appropriate practical goal. 

Mangabeira Unger na USP

Roberto Mangabeira Unger (Harvard) estará na Faculdade de Direito da USP em novembro, conversando com alunos e pesquisadores brasileiros. Como parte das atividades programadas, Unger ministrará a conferência pública "A alternativa nacional e o direito brasileiro" no dia 4 de novembro. Agradeço a Lucas Tozo pelo post!

Veja abaixo a palestra de Unger The Task of Political Theory na edição de 2013 da APSA:

Benhabib sobre Eichman e Arendt

Seyla Benhabib (Yale) postou no blog The Stone (NY Times) um ensaio acerca da (eterna) controvérsia em torno do julgamento do ex-oficial nazista Adolf Eichmann em 1961 e suas repercussões na filosofia política (especialmente através da famosa interpretação dada por Hannah Arendt ao evento). Benhabib procura defender a tese arendtiana da "banalidade do mal" contra uma parte da literatura contemporânea que enxerga no réu - e naquilo que ele representava - apenas mais uma encarnação (ainda que radical) da longa tradição do anti-semitismo europeu.

- Benhabib: "Who's on Trial, Eichmann or Arendt?

Although Arendt was wrong about the depth of Eichmann’s anti-Semitism, she was not wrong about these crucial aspects of his persona and mentality. She saw in him an all-too familiar syndrome of rigid self-righteousness; extreme defensiveness fueled by exaggerated metaphysical and world-historical theories; fervent patriotism based on the “purity” of one’s people; paranoid projections about the power of Jews and envy of them for their achievements in science, literature and philosophy; and contempt for Jews’ supposed deviousness, cowardice and pretensions to be the “chosen people.” This syndrome was banal in that it was widespread among National Socialists.

But by coining the phrase “the banality of evil” and by declining to ascribe Eichmann’s deeds to the demonic or monstrous nature of the doer, Arendt knew that she was going against a tradition of Western thought that sees evil in terms of ultimate sinfulness, depravity and corruption. Emphasizing the fanaticism of Eichmann’s anti-Semitism cannot discredit her challenge to a tradition of philosophical thinking; it only avoids coming honestly to terms with it.

3a. Conferência de Teoria Política da Sciences Po.

A conferência de pós-graduação organizada anualmente pela Sciences Po. (Paris) já está recendendo resumos para apresentações. A edição de 2015 ocorrerá nos dias 11 e 12 de junho (2015) e terá como palestrante convidada Seyla Benhabib (Yale). A conferência é uma ótima oportunidade para pós-graduandos uma vez que tem por prioridade debater trabalhos em andamento (além, é claro, de passar alguns dias em Paris!). 

Deadline: 2 de fevereiro

Sciences Po 3rd Graduate Political Theory Conference

We are happy to announce that the Third Sciences Po Graduate Political Theory Conference is going to take place at Sciences Po, Paris, 11-12 June, 2015.

We welcome contributions from young political theorists across the board and intend to accommodate various approaches to political theory (analytical, historical, normative and critical). We also aim at geographic diversity, in that we shall try to foster a substantial academic dialogue between young political theorists from Europe and their peers across the world.

Seyla Benhabib (Yale University) will deliver the keynote address. The work of Seyla Benhabib covers a broad range of topics regarding feminist theory, democratic theory and critical theory. Benhabib wrote extensively on issues related to human rights, identity politics, culture and cosmopolitanism and the writings of Hannah Arendt and Jürgen Habermas. Contributions that touch upon any of these subject-matters are encouraged, but we welcome proposals on other topics as well.

Only graduate students who have not defended their PhD are eligible. Each two hours-long session of the conference will concentrate on two to three papers and will be chaired by a Sciences Po graduate student. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A session open to the public.

Breakfast, lunch and refreshments will also be provided for the duration of the conference. Unfortunately, Sciences Po will not be able to provide funds for housing and transportation.

Submission Information

Please send us:

• A detailed abstract (between 500-750 words) of your proposal in PDF format, prepared for blind review.

• A separate document, mentioning your name, the title of your proposal, and your institutional affiliation.

Please note:

• The submission deadline for proposals is February 2, 2015

• All proposals should be sent to sciencespotheorygrad@gmail.com

• Proposals and final papers should be written in English, which is also the working language of the graduate conference.

Selection procedure

• Political theory students from Sciences Po doctoral school will select approximately 13 proposals on a blind basis.

• The selected participants will be notified of their acceptance by April 2, 2015. All the other proposals will be acknowledged.

Selection committee: Amélie Ferey, Marianne Fougère, Yoel Mitrani, Margaux Ledonne, Maurits de Jongh, Valentin Schmite, Emilien Fargues, Tom Theuns.

For any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at: sciencespotheorygrad@gmail.com

Stiglitz e o crescimento da desigualdade

O prêmio nobel de economia Joseph Stiglitz (Princeton) foi o palestrante convidado da Oxford Fullbright Distinguished Lecture, ocorrida em maio deste ano. A conferência intitulada "Causes and Consequences of Growing Inequality - And What Can Be Done About It" tratou do aumento exponencial da desigualdade de renda nos países de língua inglesa e o impacto dos novos patamares de desigualdade nas distribuição de oportunidades sociais e na competição política nos EUA. 

Recentemente, Stiglitz ficou famoso por conta de um artigo de intervenção publicado na revista Vanity Fair no qual alertava para a concentração de renda entre o 1% mais rico da sociedade norte-americana - texto que acabou servindo como uma das inspirações para o movimento Occupy.

[...]

The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year. In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent. One response might be to celebrate the ingenuity and drive that brought good fortune to these people, and to contend that a rising tide lifts all boats. That response would be misguided. While the top 1 percent have seen their incomes rise 18 percent over the past decade, those in the middle have actually seen their incomes fall. For men with only high-school degrees, the decline has been precipitous—12 percent in the last quarter-century alone. All the growth in recent decades—and more—has gone to those at the top. In terms of income equality, America lags behind any country in the old, ossified Europe that President George W. Bush used to deride. Among our closest counterparts are Russia with its oligarchs and Iran. While many of the old centers of inequality in Latin America, such as Brazil, have been striving in recent years, rather successfully, to improve the plight of the poor and reduce gaps in income, America has allowed inequality to grow.

- Stiglitz: "Of the 1%, by the 1%, and for the 1%"

"Causes and Consequences of Growing Inequality - and what can be done about it" (Annual Oxford Fullbright Distinguished Lecture on International Relations)

Duke Graduate Conference In Political Theory

A Duke University está recebendo resumos para a sua Conferência de Pós-graduação em Teoria Política, evento que ocorrerá entre os dias 12 e 13 de fevereiro (2015) na cidade norte-americana de Durham. Josiah Ober está confirmado como o conferencista convidado do evento. O prazo final para a submissão de artigo é 15 de novembro. 

Duke Graduate Conference in Political Theory (2015)

The Political Science department at Duke University will host a Graduate Conference in Political Theory on February 12-13, 2015. We invite submissions for this conference from graduate students in any discipline. Proposals on any topic in the fields of political theory, political philosophy, or the history of political thought will be considered.

In addition to building community among graduate students at different universities, this conference offers graduate students a rare opportunity to receive feedback on their work from eminent scholars in the field. Among the Duke faculty who have agreed to participate in the discussion of student papers are Michael Gillespie, Ruth Grant, Thomas Spragens, Kathi Weeks, Jack Knight and Michael Hardt. We are also pleased to announce that Josiah Ober of Stanford University will join us as the keynote speaker for the conference.

Attendees will be provided with housing at a hotel in downtown Durham, shuttle service to and from Duke, and meals for the duration of their stay, thanks to the generous support of the Program in American Values and Institutions. We will also provide substantial travel stipends, though the exact amount is yet to be determined. Participants are expected to attend the entire conference.

To apply, submit paper proposals of 700-1000 words toduketheoryconference2015 (at) gmail (dot) com by November 15, 2014. Please include your name, institutional affiliation, contact information, and some key words to help us sort your submission – along with the title of your proposal — in the text of the email. Attach your proposal as a pdf, formatted for blind reviewand identified only by the title. Applicants will be notified of their status by December 15, 2014, and participants will be required to submit a complete paper by January 20, 2015.

Suplicy e Rawls

O senador e candidato a reeleição Eduardo Suplicy (PT - SP) publicou hoje (05/10) na Folha de S. Paulo o artigo "A Construção da Justiça Social" no qual apresenta aos eleitores sua proposta para o Senado. Além de reiterar seu compromisso de longa data com a distribuição de renda incondicional para todos (Programa Renda Mínima), Suplicy também justificou suas propostas a partir dos princípios de justiça formulados pelo filósofo John Rawls (!).   

- Suplicy: "A Construção da Justiça Social" (Folha)

"A felicidade só é boa quando compartilhada por todos. Por intermediário da política, tenho lutado para que o Brasil se torne uma sociedade mais civilizada e igualitária, na qual possamos ver aplicados os princípios de justiça, tais como delineados pelo filósofo John Rawls: de igual liberdade, de diferença e de igual oportunidades. 

Toda pessoa deve ter um conjunto de liberdades básicas fundamentais, tais como livre expressão, livre associação, de ir e vir, de votar e ser votado, e outras que devem ser estendidas a toda sociedade. Qualquer diferença socioeconômica que por ventura exista entre as pessoas só se justifica se for em benefício dos que têm menos e de maneira a dar igualdade de oportunidades a todos"