Author:
Ludwig, Paul W. (Paul Walter), 1963- author.
ImprintCambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Descriptionxvi, 347 pages ; 24 cm
Note:Friendship from identity: recognizing anger in the politics of recognition -- Friendships from utility and activity: toward a more realistic social policy (and more idealistic civil society) -- Why associations replaced civic friendship: altruism conspires with self-interest to produce the "free rider" -- What associations are really civic friendships: finding the balance between associations and the state -- From communitarianism to civic friendship: broadening out beyond associations -- Commercial society and civic friendship: property and liberty are preconditions of friendship -- Mass society and civic friendship: the basic agreement that citizens cherish -- What is the use of civic friendship? Sheltering liberal practices from the effects of liberal theory.
Bibliography Note:Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-339) and index.
Note:"Liberal democracy has always relied on civic friendship without acknowledging it. Though lacking the concept, modern citizens persist in many practices and passions once considered civic friendship: prejudices held in common, favoritism for each other and, despite disagreeing on specifics, overwhelming support for the assumptions of our regime: freedom and equality. Aristotle's theory reminds us that civic friendship is a factual condition of healthy societies, not a pie-in-the-sky ideal. Liberal civic friendship finds identity in vocations instead of ethnicity or class. It moves beyond communitarianism, which is limited by geography and religion. Civic friendship opposes economic models of society, joining hands with later classical liberals to criticize "rational self-interest" as an ideology that obscures the emotional attachments at work under its guise. Civic friendship is simultaneously progressive and socially conservative. Treated cautiously, it offers an alternative to populism by engaging some of the same passions. By recognizing and understanding civic friendship, we can build on it to counteract the current polarization."-- Provided by publisher.
