Anderson edited "Leveraging: A Political, Economic and Societal Framework" (Springer, 2014), has taught at five universities and ran for the Democratic nomination for a Maryland congressional seat in 2016.
American electoral politics needs to be elevated, and some moral concepts would help the cause. The British utilitarian tradition, which has had a massive influence on cost-benefit analysis in economics and public policy, focuses on the suffering and pain that human beings experience. Any moral thinking that begins with the observation that the suffering which afflicts human beings must be addressed obviously has something very humane about it.
The problem for the utilitarian tradition has always been the debate over whose pain to reduce and why. The late John Rawls argued famously in “A Theory of Justice” that utilitarianism "does not take seriously the distinction between persons." Therefore, its effort to reduce as much pain as possible – which translates into creating the greatest good for the greatest number – is insensitive to how resources are distributed to reduce pain and promote happiness. The utilitarian might increase overall happiness in a society by enslaving 10 percent of the population, and this has always been a convincing objection to classical utilitarian thought.
The rights tradition of John Locke and the related autonomy tradition of Immanuel Kant (and Rawls) revolve around providing equal respect to individuals as dignified rational agents and protecting them from abuse by the state or each other. Their thinking was central to democratic revolutions, especially the American Revolution. In the United States today, many policy positions rest on the concept of protecting the autonomy of all individuals, including the right of women to choose whether to have an abortion and the right to free speech and right to practice the religion of your choice. Although historically rights theorists have left out large swaths of humanity in the domain of individuals to be treated with dignity, including women and non-property owning males, their core insight is meant to place each individual as an autonomous agent above any concept of total good or welfare for the society overall.
The critical theory tradition – starting with Karl Marx in the middle of 19th century, moving through the Frankfurt School in the second quarter of the 20th century, and culminating in many feminist and critical race theorists over the past few decades – transcends the historic debate between utilititarians and rights-based theorists because it finds them both guilty of a deep liberal capitalist bias. The critical tradition, instead, starts with the concept of oppression -- class, as well as racial, gender, and sexual identity -- and builds moral and political conceptions that seek to liberate citizens from oppressive political, economic and social institutions.
Our U.S. political parties do not line up in any neat way with this historic trio of political perspectives. Our politicians toss around concepts like "natural rights" and "greatest total happiness" and "institutional oppression" like frisbees, without ever providing any clear moral foundation to their vision. Democrats and Republicans, when it suits them, will take concepts from both the utilitarian tradition and the rights and/or autonomy tradition. Independents draw on these traditions or side with very left-wing points of view that align with critical theory or very right-wing points of view that reflect very conservative readings of rights theory placing them in the libertarian camp.
Although our political debates cannot turn into plenary sessions at the American Philosophical Association or the American Political Science Association, they can be elevated. Candidates for office can explain how their public policies are based on moral concepts, and moderators at public debates can press the candidates to do more than blast their opponents, say what policies they support and say what their visions are. Otherwise campaigning will continue to be more entertainment than education, and our politics will continue to foment polarization, oversimplification and distortion.
One way out of the sorry state of our campaigns is to undumb them with some Political Philosophy 101. Its counterpart, Political Science 101, has done enough harm by explaining the tools campaign managers use to unfairly tar the character of opponents, create wedge issues that distract attention from the great range of policy debates, and raise mountains of money to manipulate voters through television commercials that mislead if not lie to the public.
It is time to make political candidates draw on moral concepts more explicitly and effectively, whether they concern pain, suffering and happiness, equal economic rights and autonomy, or institutional oppression and social liberation. This kind of campaigning would help reduce polarization because it would focus less on negative campaigning and divisive wedge issues and more on the spirited moral defense of one's own position.
An Independent Voter's Perspective on Current Political Divides
In the column, "Is Donald Trump Right?", Fulcrum Executive Editor, Hugo Balta, wrote:
For millions of Americans, President Trump’s second term isn’t a threat to democracy—it’s the fulfillment of a promise they believe was long overdue.
Is Donald Trump right?
Should the presidency serve as a force for disruption or a safeguard of preservation?
Balta invited readers to share their thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.
David Levine from Portland, Oregon, shared these thoughts...
I am an independent voter who voted for Kamala Harris in the last election.
I pay very close attention to the events going on, and I try and avoid taking other people's opinions as fact, so the following writing should be looked at with that in mind:
Is Trump right? On some things, absolutely.
As to DEI, there is a strong feeling that you cannot fight racism with more racism or sexism with more sexism. Standards have to be the same across the board, and the idea that only white people can be racist is one that I think a lot of us find delusional on its face. The question is not whether we want equality in the workplace, but whether these systems are the mechanism to achieve it, despite their claims to virtue, and many of us feel they are not.
I think if the Democrats want to take back immigration as an issue then every single illegal alien no matter how they are discovered needs to be processed and sanctuary cities need to end, every single illegal alien needs to be found at that point Democrats could argue for an amnesty for those who have shown they have been Good actors for a period of time but the dynamic of simply ignoring those who break the law by coming here illegally is I think a losing issue for the Democrats, they need to bend the knee and make a deal.
I think you have to quit calling the man Hitler or a fascist because an actual fascist would simply shoot the protesters, the journalists, and anyone else who challenges him. And while he definitely has authoritarian tendencies, the Democrats are overplaying their hand using those words, and it makes them look foolish.
Most of us understand that the tariffs are a game of economic chicken, and whether it is successful or not depends on who blinks before the midterms. Still, the Democrats' continuous attacks on the man make them look disloyal to the country, not to Trump.
Referring to any group of people as marginalized is to many of us the same as referring to them as lesser, and it seems racist and insulting.
We invite you to read the opinions of other Fulrum Readers:
Trump's Policies: A Threat to Farmers and American Values
The Trump Era: A Bitter Pill for American Renewal
Federal Hill's Warning: A Baltimorean's Reflection on Leadership
Also, check out "Is Donald Trump Right?" and consider accepting Hugo's invitation to share your thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.
The Fulcrum will select a range of submissions to share with readers as part of our ongoing civic dialogue.
We offer this platform for discussion and debate.