Principles and Political Order ― The Challenge of Diversity

In a series coordinated by the Political Theory Research Unit at Cardiff U. under the broad working title of Principles in a Plural World, this entry focuses on "thin" universalism. Its definition of which is contested, but generally "thin universalism" legitimates a wide array of political forms rather than a single one, or minimizes the range of assumptions and presuppositions that figure in a universal justification. The 11 articles examine the key notions by Walzer, moral authority and contemporary political theory, weak foundationalism, the limits of justification, the basic question of how principles work, why thin universalism needs conceptions of society and person, proceduralism in Hampshire's procedural justice, gender equality and cultural justice according to Nussbaum, the case of Welsh nationalism, distributive justice, and the question of whether Rawls works liberally or universally in the case of human rights. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Bruce Haddock is Professor of European Social and Political Thought at Cardiff University. Peri Roberts is Lecturer in Political Thought at Cardiff University. Peter Sutch is Senior Lecturer in Political Thought and International Relations, and Director of Politics at Cardiff University.