Constitutional Contract and Discourse Ethics: The Agreement Theories of James Buchanan and Jürgen Habermas

In the first volume of this Journal, Vanberg and Buchanan attempted to integrate contractarian and discourse models of agreement. Their interpretation of discourse ethics is inconsistent with the theory as presented by Jürgen Habermas. The present paper lays the groundwork for a reconstruction more...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of theoretical politics 1997-10, Vol.9 (4), p.533-553
Main Author: Avio, Kenneth L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Buchanan, James
Constitution
Discourse
Ethics
Habermas, Jurgen
James Buchanan
Jürgen Habermas
Political Theory
Social contract
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Summary:In the first volume of this Journal, Vanberg and Buchanan attempted to integrate contractarian and discourse models of agreement. Their interpretation of discourse ethics is inconsistent with the theory as presented by Jürgen Habermas. The present paper lays the groundwork for a reconstruction more faithful to Habermas's own theory. The possibility of a successful synthesis depends on blending aspects of strategic and communicative action. Appeal to the work of T.M. Scanlon and to Adam Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments helps to clarify the difficulties in such a project.
ISSN:0951-6298
1460-3667
DOI:10.1177/0951692897009004005