Reflective balance in Edward Bellamy's socialist utopia

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34024/prometeica.2022.25.12960

Keywords:

reflective equilibrium, utopia, socialism, perceptive equilibrium

Abstract

John Rawls’s idea of reflective equilibrium has often been employed in ethical research on literary texts. In this article, I put this Rawlsian method to task in reading the socialist utopia of Edward Bellamy, expressed in Looking Backward 2000-1887 (1888) and Equality (1897), without disregarding alternative views such as the perceptive equilibrium. First, I show the operation of narrow and wide reflective equilibria in the itinerary of the protagonist: Julian West. Second, after revisiting the Rawlsian mechanism for institutional development, I explore the functioning of the three forms of reflective equilibrium in the judiciary stage, as exemplified by the trial scene of The Merchant of Venice. Last, I analyze how Bellamy resorts to this same scene to illustrate the basic principles of the egalitarian society and their correspondence to the forms of reflective equilibrium.

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Author Biography

  • Fernando Alberto Lizarraga, Instituto Patagónico de Estudios en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales (IPEHCS/Conicet-UNComahue)

    Investigador del CONICET en el Instituto Patagónico de Estudios en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales. Profesor de Teoría Política en la Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina. Profesor en Historia (UNL); MA en Filosofía Política (University of York); Doctor en Ciencias Sociales (UBA). Campo de investigación actual: las teorías de la justicia y el igualitarismo contemporáneos, especialmente en las tradiciones liberal y socialista.

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Published

2022-09-08

Issue

No. 25 (2022): Prometeica - nº 25 (09/2022 - 02/2023)

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Articles

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How to Cite

Lizarraga, F. A. (2022). Reflective balance in Edward Bellamy’s socialist utopia. Prometeica - Journal of Philosophy and Science, 25, 101-115. https://doi.org/10.34024/prometeica.2022.25.12960
Received 2021-11-20
Accepted 2022-07-28
Published 2022-09-08