On Common Interests

John Ryder has been a professor of philosophy and a senior administrator at several universities in the United States and abroad. He is the author or editor of over one hundred publications, as well as a former president of the Alliance of Universities for Democracy, and co-founder of the Central European Pragmatist Forum.

• AcknowledgementsPrefaceIntroductionPart I: Preliminary Considerations and Background ConceptionsChapter 1. The Failure of Political PhilosophyChapter 2. The Varieties of Political ExperienceChapter 3. Practice Over PropositionsChapter 4. Experience and Social ValuesPart II: Political Principles, Common Interests, and the PolityChapter 5. Political PrinciplesChapter 6. The Plurality and Diversity of Common InterestsChapter 7. Common Interests and the PolityConclusionBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

Ryder develops a detailed and tightly reasoned pragmatic alternative to political philosophies constructed on left/right/center and liberal/anti-liberal assumptions. His innovative approach is pluralistic and ecumenical. He urges consensus-building motivated not by what people think or believe, but by how their experiences shape their lives as individuals and members of communities.