Democracy on Purpose

Franklin I. Gamwell is professor of religious ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School. His books include The Meaning of Religious Freedom: Modern Politics and the Democratic Resolution (SUNY Press, 1995) and The Divine Good: Modern Moral Theory and the Necessity of God (HarperCollins, 1990, and Southern Methodist University Press, 1996).

• Preface Introduction Part One: The Divine Purpose1. The Freedom We Ourselves Are UnderstandingThe Understanding of Reality as SuchSelf-understandingOriginal Freedom 2. The Duplicity We May Choose Rebellion Against GodTemptationThe Radical ProblemSelf-assertionThe Fragmentary Sense of Worth 3. The Good We Should Pursue MetaphysicsWorthVirtue and HappinessTheismSummary Appendix to Part One: On the Theistic Character of BeliefThe Pragmatic Character of BeliefsThe Implied Belief in God Part Two: Justice 4. Democracy as a Formative Principle Social PracticesThe Necessity of Common DecisionsThe Practice of Communicative RespectThe Democratic AssociationConstitutional RightsFormative and Substantive Principles5. Justice as CompoundThe Principle of Religious FreedomJustice as Separate: Universalist TheoriesUniversalist Theories in the ConstitutionUniversalist Theories in the DiscourseJustice as Separate: Nonuniversalist Theories 6. Justic as General Emancipation Our Maximal Common HumanityThe Principle of JusticeRefining the PrincipleThe Principles of JusticeJustice as TeleologicalThe Possibility of Justice Appendix to Part Two: The Democratic Importance of Religion Works Cited Index

A most worthwhile addition to any college or university library. Religious Studies Review Democracy on Purpose succeeds in redeeming the claim that metaphysical theism is a necessary basis for political theory, and in showing that 'democracy depends on a divine purpose' favoring justice. This is a uniquely important contribution to political theory and an appropriate follow-up to his redemption of claims for the necessity of metaphysical theism in moral theology. Journal of Religion