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Moderate Conservatism: Reclaiming the Center by John Kekes is a response to attacks on the United States' 300-year-old constitutional democracy by extremists on the left and the right. It makes a reasoned case for moderation and the defense of a political system that has endured because it has balanced the often-conflicting claims of justice, liberty, equality, prosperity, and security. That balance is now threatened by extremists who ignore all else but their grievances. They are blind to the destructive consequences of their attacks on the conditions on which the well-being of all Americans, including their own, depends.The aim of Moderate Conservatism is to protect the United States' political system. It is a defense of what Americans have and are in danger of losing. Central to it is the rarely conscious patriotism of many millions of citizens who live private lives, earn a living, raise a family, and rely on the political system to protect the conditions in which they can continue to do so. They sustain life as Americans know it. And that life is now threatened by the destructive attacks of extremists. The United States is in urgent need of the balance and moderation this book describes and defends.
John Kekes is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy. He is the author of many books, including Hard Questions: Facing the Problems of Life and Wisdom: A Humanistic Conception. He has been visiting professor in Canada, England, Estonia, Hungary, Portugal, Singapore, and the United States Military Academy.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER TWO: FROM SIMPLICITIES TO COMPLEXITIES The Aim of Moderate Conservatism Conventional Lives Common Decencies Shared Modes of Evaluation Sources of Complexities CHAPTER THREE: PERENNIAL PROBLEMS Overview Contingencies Conflicts Compromises CHAPTER FOUR: THE PROBLEM AND THE RESPONSE The Problem Complex Evaluations Personal Attitudes and Our Political System Negative Capability Toward Reasonable Actions CHAPTER FIVE: THE RULE OF LAW The Approach Procedural or Substantive? Doubts about Priorities The Moderately Substantive Requirement Moderate Conservatism and the Rule of Law CHAPTER SIX: JUSTICE Justice as Desert Why Should We Get What We Deserve? Terms of Cooperation The Test of Time Justice as Desert: For and Against CHAPTER SEVEN: LEGAL AND POLITICAL EQUALITY The Aim Contextuality Conditionality Practicality Justification CHAPTER EIGHT: LIBERTY The Concept and Its Complexities Negative Liberty Reasons Against Negative Liberty Positive Liberty as Autonomy The Exclusivist Mistake The Secular Faith and Its Problems Limited Liberty CHAPTER NINE: PROPERTY The Reason for It Its Importance Interest-Based Justification? Entitlement-Based Justification Utility-Based Justification Complex Justification CHAPTER TEN: LAST WORDS REFERENCESINDEX
Kekes has given us a rigorous and erudite analysis of the ideological forces that plague us. He provides a model of right conduct in a world filled with contingency and hard choices and explores the conservative disposition in a manner unequalled since the best writings of Michael Oakeshott. ^iModerate Conservatism is highly recommended for anyone seeking greater understanding of our ideological age and how to lead a decent life within it.