Conservatism, Radicalism And Democratic Practice
Conservatism, Radicalism And Democratic Practice

Summary/Abstract: The basic problem for radical democrats might be summarized as follows. Moral ideas operate in the microcosm of personal relationships and appear to lack deep society-wide effects. A primary reason is that modem society is irrational in this sense: there are no common purposes that correspond to a rational individual's plan of life and permit the public direction of social affairs. The basic structure of modem society is therefore not amenable to alteration through practical deliberation. Our dilemma - that a rational society cannot be rationally achieved - helps to explain why socialist agitation has been largely replaced by a literature of resignation. 1 This essay questions the validity of acquiescence by identifying affinities between a natural human conservatism and the radical outlook. These relationships show the possibility of extending the normative traditions of consensual communities beyond modem society.

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