Politics & Government

The Commons. Relational Goods. What role should government play in providing for the collective or common good or for our human flourishing (e.g., see the On Caring Library, Nussbaum and Levine). We have turned to the work of Pierpaolo Donati to help us think about relational goods.  How do we use government to promote caring practices and relational goods? What values do  governments embrace?  What forms of government will value all modes of caring? Governments, in all forms, starting with the local, must align with a politics of caring to support the planet and caring communities. See our blog post on caring practices.

Why do people hate government (see Glynos for interesting essay on this question, and also David Levine)? Surveys show that people mistrust governments, political leaders, and public policy (see Pew Charitable Trust Report). We live during an era of anti-government social movements, on the right and the left. Is it possible, as Donald Warren argued in his study of George Wallace and the 1968 elections, that the center has now become radical; and that the center has drifted steadily rightward since the 1960s.  And in the absence of a genuine left social movement we are now facing a more dramatic rightward shift around the globe (i.e., authoritarian governments in power in Brazil, Hungary, Poland, the United States and many other places).

Covid-19 has found the faultlines in our political systems.  It certainly has in the United States. Our government is unable to protect us, unable to mobilize public opinion and support, and unable to collectively mobilize the resources in the interest of public health.  See our blog post on abandoning the elderly.

Many, perhaps with good reason, convey an apocalyptic view of Covid-19 and politics. For the Korean-German philosopher, Byung-Chul Han, "...we are heading for a biopolitical surveillance regime. Not only in our communication, but also our bodies: our health will be subject to digital surveillance. According to Canadian author Naomi Klein, the crisis is a moment that heralds a new system of rules. The pandemic shock will ensure that a digital biopolitics takes hold globally that, with its control and monitoring system, seizes control of our bodies in a biopolitical disciplinary society that also constantly monitors our state of health. Faced with the shock of the pandemic, the West will be forced to give up its liberal principles. Then the West faces a biopolitical quarantine society that permanently restricts our freedom."

A caring society must build strong defenses against these apocalyptic possibilities.

On the Blog - Modes of Caring - Politics and Government