Not in their name : are citizens culpable for their states' actions? /
There are many actions that we attribute, at least colloquially, to states. Given their size and influence, states are able to inflict harm far beyond the reach of a single individual. But there is a great deal of unclarity about exactly who is implicated in that kind of harm, and how we should thin...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford ; New York, NY :
Oxford University Press,
2019.
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Series: | New topics in applied philosophy.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | There are many actions that we attribute, at least colloquially, to states. Given their size and influence, states are able to inflict harm far beyond the reach of a single individual. But there is a great deal of unclarity about exactly who is implicated in that kind of harm, and how we should think about responsibility for it. It is a commonplace assumption that democratic publics both authorize and have control over what their states do; that their states act in their name and on their behalf. In Not In Their Name, Holly Lawford-Smith approaches these questions from the perspective of social ontology, asking whether the state is a collective agent, and whether ordinary citizens are members of that agent. If it is, and they are, there's a clear case for democratic collective culpability. She explores alternative conceptions of the state and of membership in the state; alternative conceptions of collective agency applied to the state; the normative implications of membership in the state; and both culpability (from the inside) and responsibility (from the outside) for what the state does. Ultimately, Lawford-Smith argues for the exculpation of ordinary citizens and the inculpation of those working in public services. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (viii, 185 pages) |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780191872099 0191872091 9780192570321 0192570323 |