Abstract
As a practical enterprise, political inquiry has historically tried to address as well as to understand the world. The recent efforts of political theorists in this regard have generally involved the articulation of visions of the good society which are inattentive to real-world constraints. On the other hand, empirical work which has dealt with structural questions normally proceeds in deterministic terms, especially in regard to the constraints under which states operate. A productive combination of the two traditions would have political theory supply the conceptual resources to counteract the imaginative deficiencies of empirical work. The latter in its turn would supply empirical resources to counteract the idealism of political theory. This combination is deployed here to discover and enumerate spaces for freedom in political innovation amid structural necessity. These spaces are discovered in connection with depression, war, local politics, collapsed peripheries, autonomous public spheres, revolution, the international system, and functional indeterminacy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 518-540 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | The Journal of Politics |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1992 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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The good society versus the state : Freedom and necessity in political innovation. / Dryzek, John S.
In: The Journal of Politics, Vol. 54, No. 2, 1992, p. 518-540.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - The good society versus the state
T2 - Freedom and necessity in political innovation
AU - Dryzek, John S.
PY - 1992
Y1 - 1992
N2 - As a practical enterprise, political inquiry has historically tried to address as well as to understand the world. The recent efforts of political theorists in this regard have generally involved the articulation of visions of the good society which are inattentive to real-world constraints. On the other hand, empirical work which has dealt with structural questions normally proceeds in deterministic terms, especially in regard to the constraints under which states operate. A productive combination of the two traditions would have political theory supply the conceptual resources to counteract the imaginative deficiencies of empirical work. The latter in its turn would supply empirical resources to counteract the idealism of political theory. This combination is deployed here to discover and enumerate spaces for freedom in political innovation amid structural necessity. These spaces are discovered in connection with depression, war, local politics, collapsed peripheries, autonomous public spheres, revolution, the international system, and functional indeterminacy.
AB - As a practical enterprise, political inquiry has historically tried to address as well as to understand the world. The recent efforts of political theorists in this regard have generally involved the articulation of visions of the good society which are inattentive to real-world constraints. On the other hand, empirical work which has dealt with structural questions normally proceeds in deterministic terms, especially in regard to the constraints under which states operate. A productive combination of the two traditions would have political theory supply the conceptual resources to counteract the imaginative deficiencies of empirical work. The latter in its turn would supply empirical resources to counteract the idealism of political theory. This combination is deployed here to discover and enumerate spaces for freedom in political innovation amid structural necessity. These spaces are discovered in connection with depression, war, local politics, collapsed peripheries, autonomous public spheres, revolution, the international system, and functional indeterminacy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84933492411&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2307/2132037
DO - 10.2307/2132037
M3 - Article
VL - 54
SP - 518
EP - 540
JO - Journal of Politics
JF - Journal of Politics
SN - 0022-3816
IS - 2
ER -