http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/political-philosophy Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:21:47 -0400 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:21:47 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1947/architectural-beauty-as-a-public-good-through-the-lens-of-ritzer-and-kohn By Olivia Sun - After World War II, America’s baby boom and rapid migration into cities sparked a damaging housing crisis. This marked a turning point in architectural style: the rise of modernism. Modernism prioritizes function above all else and believes in the existence of a most efficient, most cost-effective housing blueprint. Hence, America rolled out planned housing developments by the masses with each community constructed in a near-identical fashion. This essay points to the consequential neglect of architectural beauty which is defined as a perfect reflection of the identity of a shared imaginative... Fri, 25 Mar 2022 02:16 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1947/architectural-beauty-as-a-public-good-through-the-lens-of-ritzer-and-kohn http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1891/conservative-perspectives-of-political-outsiders By Audrey Cialdella - Western conservatism is often conceived as the philosophy of large landowners in the past and business executives in the present. Heightened awareness of racial and class disparities in recent years has increased the perception that conservatism is the ideology of the elite. In this paper, I will explore the conservative philosophies of three individuals who contradict this notion: Cicero, Edmund Burke, and Alexander Hamilton. I argue that conservatives consider their in-group to be those who share their values and traditions, and those traditions and values are their most salient identity. Disruption... Thu, 18 Mar 2021 04:39 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1891/conservative-perspectives-of-political-outsiders http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1656/the-value-and-benefit-of-an-enlightened-people-for-the-continuity-of-democratic-societies By Rocco A. Astore - Political philosophers and theorists alike continue to debate if more enlightened populations would be of value or not. This piece will contribute to that dispute by claiming that an enlightened populace is integral to the progress of free-societies. First, through Kant’s political and moral philosophy this piece will outline what being a free or enlightened person truly involves. Next, by drawing from Rousseau’s On the Social Contract, this essay will describe his vision of a citizen and how one can understand it as the political equivalent of what Kant would call an enlightened member... Thu, 19 Oct 2017 09:34 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1656/the-value-and-benefit-of-an-enlightened-people-for-the-continuity-of-democratic-societies http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1628/the-fundamental-illegitimacy-of-facism-and-the-innate-desire-for-freedom By Rocco A. Astore - This piece examines the ideologies and tactics used by fascist governments to validate and enforce their authority through Michael Mann’s work Fascists. By explicating Kant’s view of autonomy and progress, found in “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?” and Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, it is demonstrated that people are fundamentally progressive beings with innate capacities for freedom. Moreover, explaining J.S. Mill’s view of the innate progressiveness and value of individuality in On Liberty, it is asserted that fascist demands of obedience... Thu, 27 Apr 2017 10:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1628/the-fundamental-illegitimacy-of-facism-and-the-innate-desire-for-freedom http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1609/the-rebel-hero-albert-camus-and-the-search-for-meaning-amidst-the-absurd By Meghan E. Von Hassel - Man in his search for meaning—everyman— is Albert Camus’ rebel. In The Rebel man must accept and seek to encounter the universe as it presents itself in absurdity. He encounters the universe out of a strange love and a need for something in which he can place his hope: “a moment comes when the creation ceases to be taken tragically; it is merely taken seriously. Then man is concerned with hope.”[1] Rebellion in the face of absurdity finds hope in the beauty of solidarity which is rooted in the dignity of man, namely, that there is value in human life. In the darkness... Tue, 04 Apr 2017 02:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1609/the-rebel-hero-albert-camus-and-the-search-for-meaning-amidst-the-absurd http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1430/genealogy-of-a-crisis-europe-greece-and-the-management-of-the-refugee-population By Helen Makkas - As Europe’s frontier with the Muslim East, Greece has been cast as backward, and not worthy of full sovereignty since the earliest years of its independence from the Ottoman empire. Greece's contradictory position as guardian of the origins of European civilization, and now of Fortress Europe on the one hand, and as pariah on the other, informs the tension between Greece and the EU that unfolds in the management of the current refugee crisis.The designation and self-perception of Greece as a pariah state combined with the exposure of the hypocrisy of EU rights discourse produces a violent... Tue, 26 Jul 2016 07:25 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1430/genealogy-of-a-crisis-europe-greece-and-the-management-of-the-refugee-population http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1410/defining-the-legitimacy-and-power-of-the-state-through-weber-and-foucault By Rocco A. Astore - As a founder of sociology, Max Weber influenced the social sciences immensely. In his “Politics as a Vocation,” Weber claims that one of the definitions of the state is its ability to employ legitimate violence as a means of control in a given territory.[1] He also claims that one can define the state as being a human community where people struggle with one another for what is ultimately a greater share of the power to apply legitimate force.[2] But, should one only support Weber’s claims despite the fact that states also employ knowledge as a means to preserve their power?[... Tue, 24 May 2016 11:11 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1410/defining-the-legitimacy-and-power-of-the-state-through-weber-and-foucault http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1380/adam-smith-and-religious-plurality-in-america By Drew Liquerman - Smith's writings, most importantly An Enquiry into the Wealth of Nations,[1] greatly influenced James Madison in his thoughts on the disestablishment of religion as espoused in Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (Remonstrance),[2] in the Federalist Papers (specifically #10 and #51), and in the First Amendment’s Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. Due in part to Smith’s influence on Madison, our country was founded on the principles of separation of church and state and religious liberty, which has led to the flourishing and acceptance of a multitude of religious... Mon, 21 Mar 2016 10:14 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1380/adam-smith-and-religious-plurality-in-america http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1367/problematising-the-critical-realist-positional-approach-to-intersectionality By Ioana Cerasella Chis - Intersectionality is a much contested term which has been considered ‘a theory, a paradigm, a framework, a method, a perspective, or a lens’ (449; see Carbin and Edenheim 2013; Davis 2008). Academically, it offers a bridge for both generalist and specialist theorists to discuss the inter-relatedness of oppressive structures, identities, and experiences (Davis 2008:74-76). Hancock wonders whether intersectionality ‘can be the intellectual property of a single demographic group or whether it is in fact a meme’ (2015:624), while Carbin and Edenheim assert that intersectionality... Sun, 21 Feb 2016 02:29 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1367/problematising-the-critical-realist-positional-approach-to-intersectionality http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1338/comparing-the-political-theories-of-lao-tzu-and-machiavelli-arguments-in-favor-of-political-rights-and-fair-leadership By Rocco A. Astore - Within Lao Tzu’s Tao-Teh-Ching and Machiavelli’s The Prince, there are similar notions concerning how a ruler should maintain order and how he/she can be an effective leader. According to the former, it is best if people are blind to the operations of the state, so that they may always be in awe of their sovereign, much like the latter’s reasons to conclude that it is safer for a prince to be feared instead of loved.[1] With this essay, I explore how Lao Tzu’s and Machiavelli’s political theories are alike, by explicating their ideas concerning the ways in which a... Mon, 25 Jan 2016 10:40 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1338/comparing-the-political-theories-of-lao-tzu-and-machiavelli-arguments-in-favor-of-political-rights-and-fair-leadership http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1048/polysemic-language-democratization-and-the-empowerment-of-the-body-politic-in-shakespeares-hamlet By Hayley E. Tartell - In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince Hamlet’s polysemic language raises the theme of empowerment of the body politic and, ultimately, the notion of democratization. Through an analysis of Hamlet’s speech, particularly in response to King Claudius, this paper suggests that a democratizing percept is intrinsically rooted in this work and further elucidated upon careful consideration of Ranciere’s The Emancipated Spectator. By exploring Ranciere’s notion of active engagement with the “third thing,” this paper highlights the democratic politics that encompass... Mon, 15 Jun 2015 09:29 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1048/polysemic-language-democratization-and-the-empowerment-of-the-body-politic-in-shakespeares-hamlet http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1033/the-source-and-nature-of-power-comparing-noumenal-and-structural-power-according-to-forst-and-strange By Shaun Docherty - Their protest challenged the paradigm of power as it existed at the time, specifically by revealing the limitations of the state's ability to exercise its will even in a situation where the state wielded seemingly absolute authority.[1] Power, as Rainer Forst argues, is "noumenal" and as such it can only exist when recognized by the subject.[2] The hunger strikers' symbolic act of defiance against the British state demonstrates how it is the subject who is empowered by their choice of whether or not to recognize the sovereignty of an outside authority. Even while imprisoned and in solitary confinement... Fri, 15 May 2015 09:35 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1033/the-source-and-nature-of-power-comparing-noumenal-and-structural-power-according-to-forst-and-strange http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1020/avoiding-the-tyranny-of-democracy-the-republican-ideal-of-a-mixed-constitution By Jessica C. Bridges - The assertion that unconstrained power brings with it inevitable corruption has occupied theorists since the first considerations of authority. That the nature of man in unconstrained assemblage will lead to a “tyrannical abuse of power” is a central assumption in the construction of political structure in the res publica (Chomsky 2007: 314). Arguments of how to best maintain and preserve order in this creed have consequently been tied to ideas of “freedom as non-domination” (Skinner 1990: 127). Stemming most notably from the works of Aristotle, later popularized by Polybius... Thu, 02 Apr 2015 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1020/avoiding-the-tyranny-of-democracy-the-republican-ideal-of-a-mixed-constitution http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1000/the-contemporary-global-public-sphere-as-reincarnation-of-habermas-bourgeois-society By Shaun Docherty - Our contemporary global public sphere is made up of a tiny proportion of the world’s population. Affluent, exclusive, and concerned only with perpetuating its own economic advancement, this contemporary global public sphere is an anachronism that possesses all the constituent elements of the early eighteenth century bourgeois public sphere identified by Jürgen Habermas in his seminal work, “The Structural Transformation of the Global Sphere.” This is a particularly bold statement considering Habermas was heavily criticised for his theory, was believed to have been unhappy... Mon, 16 Feb 2015 11:40 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1000/the-contemporary-global-public-sphere-as-reincarnation-of-habermas-bourgeois-society http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/912/comparing-the-philosophy-of-jurgen-habermas-and-michel-foucault By Frank Wang - Second, the essay argues that in their respective projects, the stress on the importance of the social contract differs. For Foucault, the social contract is the means to which the bourgeois class used to secure social order to protect their property and it was a step toward the diffusion of power; whereas for Habermas, he completely rejects the use of a social contract to create social order, for he finds communicative action to be capable of addressing weaknesses that social order does not account for. Third, it argues that whereas Foucault recognizes power relations as foundational for social... Mon, 08 Sep 2014 10:10 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/912/comparing-the-philosophy-of-jurgen-habermas-and-michel-foucault http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/782/on-freedom-and-progress-comparing-marx-and-mill By Frank Wang - This essay compares Karl Marx’s and J.S. Mill’s understandings of freedom and their analyses of the impediments to its realization. First, this essay argues that the two philosophers share the same premise that progress is possible and that mankind has the capacity to drive it. Second, this essay argues that while their conceptions of freedom differ, both see freedom as an end in itself. Then, the essay argues that while their views on what is necessary for progress differ, they share an understanding of human nature’s basic tendancy for self-cultivation. What distinguishes them... Mon, 04 Nov 2013 08:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/782/on-freedom-and-progress-comparing-marx-and-mill http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/712/justice-and-inequality-in-the-world-trading-system-a-critical-assesment By Dominykas Broga - It has been argued that the global trading system is supposed to promote global efficiency and growth, but a rising chorus of voices is asserting that the global economy operates in a way that is fundamentally unfair and seems to be ‘rigged in favor of the rich’[2]. Those voices require more equality in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet, neo-liberals argue that unequal outcomes in the world economy are acceptable on the assumption that equality of opportunity still exists.[3] Others defend the world trading system on the grounds that existing inequalities are fair, because they... Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:26 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/712/justice-and-inequality-in-the-world-trading-system-a-critical-assesment http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/510/john-rawls-robert-nozick-and-the-difference-principle-finding-common-ground By Colin R. Fraser - A large portion of Robert Nozick’s Anarchy, The State and Utopia is dedicated to refuting the theories of John Rawls. Specifically, Nozick takes issue with Rawls’ conception of distributive justice as it pertains to economic inequalities. Rawls wrote that economic inequalities should only be permitted if they are to the benefit of society, and especially if they are to the benefit of its least advantaged members; this has come to be known as “the difference principle”. Nozick believed that no one had any business “permitting” economic inequalities at all. To... Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:59 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/510/john-rawls-robert-nozick-and-the-difference-principle-finding-common-ground http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/229/pragmatic-nationalism-and-confucianism-the-new-ideology-of-the-ccp By Nicholas J.S. Miller - Confucianism was one of the dominant political philosophies of Imperial China. Confucianism’s influence declined throughout the 19th century coinciding with the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Some Chinese intellectuals, like Lu Xun, attacked Confucianism believing it to be one of the sources of China’s failure to modernize. However supporters, like Kang Yuwei, attempted to modernize Confucianism and use it a source of Chinese nationalism. Anti-Confucian fervor reached its zenith during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s with the destruction of important Confucian sites, but it... Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:50 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/229/pragmatic-nationalism-and-confucianism-the-new-ideology-of-the-ccp http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/75/john-locke-on-equality-toleration-and-the-atheist-exception By Adalei Broers - In spite of legislation protecting each individual, conflict will inevitably erupt, if not between a government and its people then among the people themselves. This of course will impact the state and inevitably require response. It is in this perspective that Locke writes A Letter Concerning Toleration, addressing the issue of religious intolerance, a problem that permeated 17th century English society. He was extremely critical of the fervent behavior of people concerning their religious beliefs, particularly of those with “intemperate zeal” (Locke, Toleration, 9) who would attempt... Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:09 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/75/john-locke-on-equality-toleration-and-the-atheist-exception