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Flannery O'Connor's fiction continues to haunt American readers, in
part because of its uncanny ability to remind us who we are and
what we need. Foss's book reveals the extent to which O'Connor was
a serious reader of the history of political philosophy. She
understood the ideas upon which the American regime rests, and she
evaluated those ideas from the standpoint of both faith and reason.
Foss's book explains why O'Connor feared that the modern habit to
govern by tenderness would lead to terror. After a thorough account
of her familiarity with the history of political philosophy, Foss
shows how the works of Plato, Aristotle, Saint Augustine, Saint
Thomas Aquinas, Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, and Nietzsche inform
O'Connor's stories. This does not mean that O'Connor was writing
about politics in the narrow sense. Her vision was deeply
theological, and she carefully avoided topical stories that promote
social agendas. Her concern was with the health of the American
regime more broadly, insofar as the manners of a regime affect
citizens' attitudes toward religion. O'Connor does not present a
political theory of her own, but as Foss argues, she was a
political philosopher in the original sense of the word. Her
stories give clear accounts of her political wisdom. Foss further
shows the continued relevance of her wisdom in age dominated by
abstract modern theories, such as that of John Rawls.
Flannery O'Connor's fiction continues to haunt American readers, in
part because of its uncanny ability to remind us who we are and
what we need. Foss's book reveals the extent to which O'Connor was
a serious reader of the history of political philosophy. She
understood the ideas upon which the American regime rests, and she
evaluated those ideas from the standpoint of both faith and reason.
Foss's book explains why O'Connor feared that the modern habit to
govern by tenderness would lead to terror. After a thorough account
of her familiarity with the history of political philosophy, Foss
shows how the works of Plato, Aristotle, Saint Augustine, Saint
Thomas Aquinas, Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, and Nietzsche inform
O'Connor's stories. This does not mean that O'Connor was writing
about politics in the narrow sense. Her vision was deeply
theological, and she carefully avoided topical stories that promote
social agendas. Her concern was with the health of the American
regime more broadly, insofar as the manners of a regime affect
citizens' attitudes toward religion. O'Connor does not present a
political theory of her own, but as Foss argues, she was a
political philosopher in the original sense of the word. Her
stories give clear accounts of her political wisdom. Foss further
shows the continued relevance of her wisdom in age dominated by
abstract modern theories, such as that of John Rawls.
This book critiques the Rawlsian concepts of "justice as fairness"
and "public reason" from the perspective of Christian political
theory and practice. The Rawlsian paradigm has become pervasive in
multiple disciplines outside political philosophy and is
unconsciously embedded in a great deal of Christian public
discourse; this calls for a new level of analysis from Christian
perspectives. This is the first volume to examine Rawls based on
Christian principles drawn from theological ethics, social thought,
political theory and practical observation. In addition to
theoretical perspectives, the book connects its critique of Rawls
to specific hot-topic practical questions in three areas: social
issues (abortion, marriage, etc.), economic issues (wealth
creation, poverty programs, etc.), and the increasing difficulty of
political compromise and peaceful coexistence in the context of the
culture war. The book includes some of the leading Christian
political theorists in America.
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