Suchergebnisse

G.A. Cohen argues that one is free to do what one is forced to, in order to explain the character of ideological disagreement over the idea that the proletariat are forced/free to sell their labour power. Argues that the stance is made clearer by analysing what the absence of a reasonable alternative entails. Concludes that all proletarians have 'type' freedom, but not all have 'token' freedom. (SJK)

AbstractThis article is one of a series commissioned byGovernment and Oppositionexploring identity politics in several national and international contexts. Most discussions of 'the Canadian identity' focus on how 'being Canadian' relates to various sub-state group identities, such as Québécois, Aboriginal or immigrant identities. There is often said to be a distinctly Canadian model of reconciling national identity with sub-group identities. I argue that the Canadian model of accommodating identities is not unique, but rather reflects broader trends throughout the West. I also suggest that an equally important but neglected part of 'being Canadian' is the external dimension i.e., how Canadians relate to the wides world.

AbstractThis article presents an interpretation of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's notion of the general will through the example of the modern Palestinian predicament. 'Being Palestinian' focuses in particular on the continuing crisis of the Palestinian refugees of 1948, the Palestinian people being largely a refugee population. It discusses the mechanisms that express the general will for a stateless people, and demonstrates how particular political sentiments, negotiating positions, common understandings and political will are expressed, deliber-ated and understood within the Palestinian body politic, both across borders and within besieged national institutions.

AbstractThis article is one of a series commissioned by Government and Opposition exploring identity politics in several national and international contexts. Though ostensibly a civic republic, Ireland has been shaped by a certain conception of Irish culture. Cultural claims are typically political but have the potential to allow community interests to override concern for individual well-being. The construction of the Irish state focused on the maintenance of an idea of being Irish rather than on the welfare of people throughout Ireland, both North and South. As a result, a conservative formulation of Irish identity was locked into the state's structures.

Examines the development of a communitarian cultural identity seen as critical to Irish self-determination & demonstrates how this identity clashed with the liberal values on which the state was based. It is argued that the political content of cultural demands is key to understanding Irish independence; thus, the comprehensive conception of what membership entails & an intolerance of dissent are addressed as two characteristics of such demands. Attention turns to providing a review of the idea of being Irish prior to & following independence, demonstrating that it encompassed little of the reality of Irish society. The negative impact of Irish identity politics, particularly with respect to membership & intolerance of dissent, is then illustrated in terms of territory, European integration, & religion in the public sphere. Revealed are the conservative consequences arising from the influence of cultural demands on political action & the artifice in the idea of being Irish. J. Zendejas