Reconstructing Legitimacy

Abstract

Following an analysis of the theory and practice of traditional liberal democratic and moral philosophy from Locke to Rawls, I combine Dewey's pragmatic ethics and his suggestion that politics be understood as shared problem solving with Foucault's critique of institutions in order to rethink the methodologies for engaging in ethical and political problems, particularly global development issues like those facing the World Bank. I focus on how multiple publics, with the input but not the direction of experts, can determine the meaning of normative and theoretical work in their dealings with shared problems. This methodology for ethical and political inquiry requires the reconfiguration of the ethical and political concept of legitimacy as understood by Locke, Rawls, and many normative theorists. The new account of legitimacy I develop, I argue, provides a more effective approach for dealing with the pressing and plural value conflicts facing us today, because it helps identify the concrete ethical changes that they may require.