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Domination, understood as the abusive or capricious employment of power over others for the sake of one's own ends, is among the gravest threats to human freedom. Solving the problem of domination is a crucial normative challenge, and this article identifies in the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau a promising and overlooked avenue for addressing it. I propose an interpretation of Rousseau'sEmilein which preventing domination requires moral education in the practice and value of care. This interpretation gives Rousseau new relevance as a theorist of domination. In connecting non-dominative to educative care, Rousseau's approach has the potential to forge new connections between neo-republican theories of domination and feminist care ethics, even suggesting new routes by which public policy might foster a non-dominative society.

While traditionally Plato has been read as a critic of democracy and an advocate of philosopher-kingship, a number of more recent interpretations have argued that Plato's views about these issues changed over the course of his life. Several scholars argue that Plato shifts from an authoritarian outlook in "middle period" dialogues, such as the Republic, to a more democratic view in "late" dialogues, such as the Laws. In contrast to these scholars, this article argues that Plato's attitude towards authority and democracy is consistent in his "middle" and "late" periods. I show that Plato defines law as the writing of political experts, and that the Laws turns to written law as a second-best method for instituting the rule of the wise. This interpretation enables us to understand the Laws as a dialogue about the political use of writing, which helps illuminate some of the more peculiar features of the Laws and account for its place in the Platonic corpus.

"Attention to care in modern society has fallen out of view as an ethos of personal responsibility, free markets, and individualism has been in the ascendant. The Liberalism of Care argues that contemporary liberalism is suffering from a crisis of care, manifest in a decaying sense of collective political responsibility for citizens' well- being and for the most vulnerable members of our communities. The book maintains that this practical crisis stems from a theoretical one. We have lost the political language of care, which, prior the 19th century, was commonly used to express these dimensions of political life. To recover that language, Shawn C. Fraistat turns to three prominent philosophers-Plato, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and William Godwin-who illuminate the varied ways caring language and caring values have structured core debates in the history of Western political thought about the proper role of government, as well as the rights and responsibilities of citizens. The Liberalism of Care presents a distinctive vision for our liberal politics where political communities and citizens can utilize the ethic and practices of care to face practical challenges"--

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter One. Plato on Caring for the Self and Caring for Others -- Chapter Two. Plato and the Politics of Authority as Care -- Chapter Three. Rousseau on Care, Education, and Domination -- Chapter Four. Rousseau, Authority, and the Caring Republic -- Chapter Five. Godwin on Care, Impartiality, and Independence -- Chapter Six. Godwin and Anarchy as Care -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index