Aligning Values and Politics

Empowerment Versus Entitlement

By (author) Michael Gendre, Nicolás Sánchez

Publication date:

02 March 2016

Length of book:

180 pages

Publisher

University Press of America

Dimensions:

230x150mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780761867234

Aligning Values and Politics argues that empowering individuals for self-actualization is an indispensable tool for attaining freedom; therefore, politics must align with the promotion of self-actualization. Private property rights have in the past helped people to develop skills, but such rights were abused. Once these rights are combined with an ethics of responsibility, the book opens the doors to a nonpartisan analysis of income inequality, inheritance, race relations, abortion and governance. The book argues that the American government is engaged in producing “bread and circuses,” inducing people into living vicariously. Using the ideas of Immanuel Kant, the authors claim that we can return to a civil society that values independence rather than entitlements.

Dedication
Acknowledgments
Preface,by Michael Gendre
1 Introduction: Empowering People Through Institutional Change
2 Manipulating People by Means of “Bread and Circuses;” Then and Now
3 The Philosophical Case for Limiting Government
4 Caring for Others Requires a Principle of Duty
5 Drawing the Line Between Self-Actualization and Our Duty to Others
6 Private Property Expands Our Opportunities
7 Imposing Restrictions on Inheritance
8 Using Property Rights to Better Understand Abortion and Adoption
9 The Market Is the Best Engine for Conflict Resolution
10 Discrimination As a Moral and Strategic Challenge
11 The Rise of Property Rights in Historical Context: Their Use and Misuse
12 Bringing Back Legitimacy to Government
13 Proposed Legal and Constitutional Changes
14 The Obstacles That We Still Face
15 The Road to Wealth Creation in a Society With Meaningful Lives
16 Imperialism as a Threat to American Governance
17 From Ancients to Moderns: Balancing Individual Rights and Duties to Others
Afterword and Summary in the Form of an Open Letter,by Nicolás Sánchez

Appendix A: Our Assumptions
Appendix B: Our Understanding of Scholarship
Appendix C: The Kantian Texts and Their Contexts
About the Authors
Bibliography
Index

Gendre and Sánchez challenge American citizens to rise up to better versions of themselves, individually and collectively, by questioning the pursuit of mere happiness and pleasure and striving instead for self-actualization built upon Kantian ethical principles. Rejecting the tired dichotomies and slogans of Left and Right, Republican and Democrat, and Us against Them, Gendre and Sánchez challenge readers to reconsider their assumptions, political and economic loyalties, and self-awareness in the light of historical lessons and moral principles. If you are looking for a book that you will agree with across the board, you should pass by on the other side. If, instead, you seek to be challenged and stretched in your thinking about economics, politics, and the purposes and limits of government, this book is for you.