Why Politics Cannot Be Universal

Abstract

Chapter 5 probes the limits of political universalism. Our political dilemmas, problems and interests do not come from a void of an original position, but can only be recognised thanks to the common language and practices that define our being together. Politics is not merely the administration of issues, but a communal process of pursuing often competing ideas of the good life. Politics, in other words, requires practical reason. Nation, I shall argue, represents that bounded rationality better than the state and allows us to engage with the political through social practices and institutions that make the common good accessible and tangible to us.