Michael Sandel Quotes on Politics
Michael Sandel’s Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982) gave the 1980s communitarian critique of Rawlsian liberalism its principal philosophical statement, arguing that the Rawlsian original position presupposes a metaphysical conception of the self — the unencumbered self stripped of its constitutive attachments — that cannot do the moral work the theory requires. The constructive program, developed across Democracy’s Discontent (1996), Justice (2009), The Tyranny of Merit (2020), and a long career of public-philosophy teaching, recovers the civic-republican tradition’s emphasis on the common good, public deliberation, and the moral limits of markets. The framework grounds Sandel’s broader engagement with the philosophical foundations of contemporary liberal democracy, the politics of meritocracy, and the bioethics of human enhancement.
Quotes
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Attributed to Michael Sandel:
“A meritocracy that is not also humble is a tyranny.”
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Attributed to Michael Sandel:
“We are constituted in part by ends we have not chosen.”
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“Unlike the liberty of the early republic, the modern version permits — in fact even requires — concentrated power.”
Michael J. Sandel, "The Procedural Republic and the Unencumbered Self" (1984) -
“Political philosophy seems often to reside at a distance from the world. Principles are one thing, politics another, and even our best efforts to live up to our ideals seldom fully succeed.”
Preface -
“But if political philosophy is unrealizable in one sense, it is unavoidable in another.”
Preface -
“A public philosophy is an elusive thing, for it is constantly before our eyes. It forms the often unreflective background to our political discourse and pursuits. In ordinary times, the public philosophy can easily escape the notice of those who live by it. But anxious times compel a certain clarity. They force first principles to the surface and offer an occasion for critical reflection.”
Chap. 1. The Public Philosophy of Contemporary Liberalism -
“To put the point another way, the republican sees liberty as internally connected to self-government and the civic virtues that sustain it.”
Democracy's Discontent(1996) | Chap. 2. Rights and the Neutral States -
“The idea that freedom consists in our capacity to choose our ends finds prominent expression in our politics and law. Its province is not limited to those known as liberals rather than conservatives in American politics; it can be found across the political spectrum.”
Democracy's Discontent(1996) | Chap. 1. The Public Philosophy of Contemporary Liberalism