The Good Polity

Abstract

Depicting a good polity, one that is morally superior and desired, is relatively easy. Utopian writers have drawn various designs for centuries. Some prefer direct democracies to representative ones; some see much merit in local government; others extol the merits of world government. There is surely much merit to this visionary approach, if only because it allows one to clarify the values to which we adhere, as they are projected or revealed in these utopian designs. This article focuses on the more difficult question of how one can get from here to there, on the ways a polity may restructure itself to reflect more closely the preferred system. The result, it turns out, is not neutral in terms of various utopian pictures: The good polity turns out to be one in which the government is responsive to all the needs of all the members of the community. At the same time, we recognize the factors that limit our ability to move toward a good polity, the constraints on design. At issue are questions surrounding the capacities of a polity to know itself and its environment, how decisions are made, the relative power of the government versus those who are governed-and not only questions of effective representation but of institutionalized opportunities to change those in power and other such more often studied factors.

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