Moral discourse begins from individual interests, then asks after equal interests

Evidence

Even moral discourse must start from the interests of the individual parties to the conflict before one can ask from the perspective of justice what is in the equal interest of all affected. To be sure, no democratic polity can function properly when its citizens, in their role as national citizens and co-legislators, follow their own interests exclusively. John Rawls rightly associates the ‘public use of reason’ with the expectation that citizens should exhibit political virtues. On the other hand, one must also insist against Rousseau that the democratic state can make only modest demands on its citizens when it comes to adopting an orientation to the common good. — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 72

Categorization

• XREF: Undercuts the common caricature of discourse ethics as hostile to self-interest; mirrors tension between Rousseau’s demanding civic virtue and liberal modesty. — connects to: Moral systems are interlocking mechanisms that regulate self-interest to enable cooperation — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 466; The discourse of self-interest forces even altruistic citizens to describe themselves as selfish — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 1361

Related

• The discourse of self-interest forces even altruistic citizens to describe themselves as selfish (similarity 0.82)
• Moral systems are interlocking mechanisms that regulate self-interest to enable cooperation (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Moral systems are interlocking mechanisms that regulate self-interest to enable cooperation #expands (0.75) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 466