What it Means to be a Pluralist

Revised version published in Yitzhak Benbaji and Naomi Sussmann, eds., Reading Walzer, Routledge, 2013.

24 Pages Posted: 29 May 2008 Last revised: 28 Dec 2013

See all articles by Jacob T. Levy

Jacob T. Levy

McGill University - Department of Political Science

Date Written: May 28, 2008

Abstract

Michael Walzer has made great contributions to the appreciation of both moral and cultural pluralism in political theory. Nonetheless, there are ways in which Walzer's arguments appear anti-pluralistic. The question of this essay is: why is there so little pluralism in Walzer's political theory, or why does its pluralism run out so soon? Focusing on Spheres of Justice and Nation and Universe, it examines the effect of Walzer's nationalism/statism on his theory, and the constraints his theory faces in considering multiculturalism or political pluralist regimes such as federalism within a state.

Keywords: multiculturalism, nationalism, political theory, political philosophy, Michael Walzer

Suggested Citation

Levy, Jacob T., What it Means to be a Pluralist (May 28, 2008). Revised version published in Yitzhak Benbaji and Naomi Sussmann, eds., Reading Walzer, Routledge, 2013., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1138315 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1138315

Jacob T. Levy (Contact Author)

McGill University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Montreal, Quebec H3A 1G5
Canada

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