Lehrman American Studies Center

Political theory, faith, secularism. A potent concoction.

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Liberal education for Professor Eva T.H. Brann consists of "artfully superintended conversations . . . aided by great books." It provides Americans with an education that suits its political regime, a matching, according to Brann, that Aristotle would have recommended. Studying the classics and the American founding does "not aim at a return to the past but at its re-appropriation for the present."

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Prior to its decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003), the Supreme Court’s decision in Regents of University of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265 (1978) was the first major case concerning the constitutionality of college and university admissions policies. The admissions procedure at the University of California-Davis Medical School was challenged as an unconstitutional violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause, in addition to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The admissions policy reserved 16 seats for disadvantaged minority students, out of an incoming class of 100. Only African American, Chicano, and Asian-Americans could compete for those seats, if they also demonstrated that they were the victims of racial discrimination. The petitioner, Allan Bakke, argued that his grade point average and MCAT scores were superior to those disadvantaged minority students who were accepted.

Justices Brennan, Blackmun, White, and Marshall did …

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Premodern Islamic attitudes and practices were by and large based on low expectations on what politics can achieve. Humanity is depraved, and tolerating a bad ruler or even tyrant is a matter of getting what one deserves or obtaining the best one can hope for. Because of this low expectation, Muslims historically have been able to keep distance between their political authorities and their religious practices. If one affirms the depravity of one's ruler, then one will take guard to ensure he lacks authority to dictate religious doctrine or practice. Brown observes the Ottoman empire, where the emperor had authority to appoint clerics, marks the greatest extent political authorities were able to influence religious practices.

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The fourth and final subfield I cover in my Introduction to Political Studies class is Comparative Politics. This subfield is the most problematic and difficult for two basic reasons.

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Finally, in the 2nd Supplement of To Perpetual Peace, Kant issues his secret protocol, an exception to his rule that all articles to treaties must be public.

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Kant leaves open some questions concerning the "self-interest" societies have in joining the federation of republics. Does Kant anticipate the federation of republics making a pre-emptive strike against non-members who, by definition, are essentially warlike? After all, they wish to defend themselves. Does the movement toward perpetual peace in fact increase the likelihood of war? Does his federation have the seeds to exhibit the same imperialistic ambitions that plagued the Athenians, especially after Pericles died? Is "making the world safe for democracy" the perpetual Sicilian expedition for all democracies?

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States depart the lawless state by the same logic as individuals depart the state of nature. They simply tire of killing one another and find mutually beneficial relations advantageous. In pursuing their self-interest (for peace), they discover the advantages of avoiding war. Kant insists individuals remain as depraved as ever. Rather, the "mechanism of nature" enables cooperation to evolve; individuals seeking their self-interest inadvertently produce public goods.

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In the world of work, the real go-getters are the ones who want to get out of IBM and start a small business. Why do conservative academics still have a yen for joining the old ossifying universities, as opposed to striking out on their own?

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What does it mean to be and become an American? At least three answers to this question exist in the American political thought literature. First, the universal account emphasizes attachment to the universal political principles contained in the American Creed. Second, the cultural hypothesis affirms America's distinctly Anglo-Protestant political, cultural, and religious traditions. Finally, the civic formulation argues that Americans are defined by civic participation and the public virtue necessary for self-governance. All of these interpretations must respond to two challenges. The first denies the existence of a single, overarching understanding of "American-ness" and the second suggests that being an American is best understood in commercial terms.

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