Good and Evil in Politics
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Good and Evil in Politics
In all cultures evil is understood as the absence of good. The understanding of good and evil varies. Politics manifests possibilities for evil. Politics, the struggle for supremacy over others, encourages people to ask how their lives could be better. Ethics and morality are concerns for individuals and societies. Moral questions are institutionalized in government and laws primarily in England and the United States (but not solely). They are now threatened by authoritarianism, dictatorships, terrorism, the current US presidency and the intellectual and moral decline of the American public, exacerbated by insufficient historical and political education, popular culture and the media. The presence of political evil encourages us to ask questions beyond our primal instincts. Theories of human nature and social organization will be considered. Are American contemporary western citizens able to live authentic/virtue centered lives?
Readings:
The central text:
Political Evil: What It Is and How To Combat It. by Alan Wolfe. Alfred Knopf, New York. 2011.