The Economic Activity of the State in the Social Teachings of Pope John Paul II

The subject matter of the paper is the John Paul II teachings on the fields of a state’s activity in economic life. The first part of article talks about general elements of economic order: private property, liberal market, a just salary for labour and the participation of workers in the control of a business. The second part of the paper confirms that the state ought to create a solid infrastructure of economy and to find a good balance between different sectors of economic life. The last part of the paper shows that the state ought to interfere sometimes in the economic field, for example, to combat unemployment and poverty, or to protect the family

Inevitable decline versus predestined stability : the structure of disciplinary explanations of the evolving transatlantic order

The future of NATO has been a hotly debated topic at the center of IR debates ever since the end of the Cold War. It has also been a very complicated one given the discipline´s conceptual and theoretical difficulties in studying change. Most analysts now agree that NATO (and the transatlantic order more broadly) are going through some major changes. Yet while there is consensus that the depth as well as the pace of these changes is more far-reaching than in past decades it is unclear exactly how deep and how far these changes reach. In order to come to grips with these changes most of the chapters in this book are exploring the character as well as the sources of these changes. This chapter approaches the topic by examining how the discipline has dealt with the question of the evolution of the transatlantic order in the past. It argues that IR has not been very well equipped conceptually to deal with the phenomenon in question, ie. large-scale processes of change. In applying a typological framework developed by Paul Pierson the chapter discusses what types of causal accounts have dominated in the IR literature – and what this may tell us about particular strengths, biases and potential blind spots in coming to grips with the evolution of this order. In essence it argues that the structure of the most prominent explanations is often quite similar irrespective of paradigmatic descent. Inspite of major differences – inspite, even, of mutually exclusive predictions – as to the expected path of the order´s evolution realist, liberal and constructivist accounts heavily rely in equal fashion on causal arguments which emphasize large-scale causal processes which are almost always framed in rather statist structural terms even though they essentially entail slow moving causal processes. This temporal dimension of the causal processes presumably shaping the future of the transatlantic order is seldom spelled out in detail, however. Thus, if one examines the debate as a whole one sees a picture of IR scholarship which essentially oscillates between two extremes: the position that NATO (as the core institution of the transatlantic order) was (and is) certain to survive and the position that it was (and is) certain to collapse. What is more, these extremes on a spectrum of possible positions on the transatlantic order´s evolution between breakdown on the one hand and successful adaptation on the other are not hypothetical but mostly real. Thus, the debate does not gravitate towards the center (ie. a position which, for instance, envisages a loser but still cooperative relationship) after the usual give and take of exchanging scholarly arguments. Rather it mostly sticks with either of the two extreme positions. The chapter illustrates the problems associated with this point in some details and discusses potential remedies

Reading, implementing and theorising global justice: on some recent work in the political philosophy of cosmopolitanism

In the last fifteen years or so, political philosophers have been increasingly busy nurturing their latest darling, global justice (hereinafter GJ). There are many reasons why justice, the centrepiece of much political theorising since the 1970s, has spilled beyond the confines of the (nation-)state – from certain inherent features of prominent philosophical accounts of justice to the seemingly morally arbitrary nature of state borders to the perceived or assumed effects of globalisation. In any case, the previously rather scattered reflections on the global dimension on justice-related topics have now moulded into a respected academic enterprise, generating a vast body of mutually interconnected research. Under the broad umbrella of GJ, a wealth of specific problems and/or issue areas have surfaced; for the purposes of the present essay, it is useful to note that the primarily normative discussion about justice in the transnational realm (i.e. what is right/wrong and what should be done about it) extends to questions of methodological, epistemological as well as ontological kind which are of wider interest to political philosophy as such. One reason for such a broadened perspective is that two of the three titles (Brooks and Brock) appeared in print four and five years ago, respectively, and Brock’s and Ypi’s volumes have already received wide critical attention from within the field. It makes therefore sense to step back and evaluate the respective contributions with the benefit of hindsight, and also perhaps more critically than has been the case with the majority of heretofore published reactions. This is facilitated by the different approaches employed in the respective books, stemming in one case (Brooks) from its genre, and from different authorial aims and modes of explication in the other two cases

The substantive economy of money : Karl Polanyi in the tradition of "old institutionalism"

The purpose of this contribution is to suggest an interpretation of substantivist thought initiated by Karl Polanyi. An approach such as this is concerned with “historical economics”, in the precise sense that substantive concepts do not come from a retrospective projection of modern prejudgements, but rather from an attempt to apprehend universal categories of economic analysis in order to clarify the genuine singularities of different economic systems . In doing this I shall highlight the coherence of institutionalist thought founded by economists such as Mitchell, Commons and Veblen, into which the reflections of Karl Polanyi fit. In this way, Polanyi thinks of money as an institution that submerges the economy into social relationships. As an analytical result, stripping money of its institutional character and trying to reduce it to a commodity, can only create chaos. In order to give an account of Polanyi's project, I will show, in the first part of my analysis, how Polanyi wants to move away from the idea that economy is created on pure rational logic.As a result, economy owes its very existence to "institutionalised processes" which produce the very inflexibilities necessary for both collective and individual action. Taking this into account, it is impossible to presuppose the unity of “the cattalactic triad” i. e. external trade, money and markets. From this point on, it is possible, in the second part of this analysis, to specify certain interesting results for the economic history of money. From a transhistorical viewpoint, this institution sets the rules for the quantification and extinction of debts. However, in contrast to modern money, archaic money is characterised by a separation of functions which compel us to talk about “money uses”. Consequently, it is better to speak in terms of accounting and payment practises rather than using the single word of “money”. Furthermore, the independence of money in relation to market is a characteristic of numerous archaic societies. Nevertheless, in spite of their differences, both ancient and modern monies politically produce social integration.Money - Polanyi - Substantivism - Instititutionalisme - Historical Economics

New Labour and Devolution: radicalism or bricolage?

International audienceThis paper argues that New Labour's devolution proposals can be seen as part of a strategy of « political distinction » from the Conservative party, all the more necessary as there had been a conspicuous convergence in most other policy areas. After retracing the history of Labour attitudes towards Home Rule on the periphery of the United Kingdom in the XXth century, the paper focuses on the contemporary period, suggesting that Thatcherism was perceived as an “alien” doctrine in both Scotland and Wales, thus hardening the resolve of a significant part of the population to loosen or break the old constitutional ties. It is against this background that New Labour's positioning as the party of movement is discussed. It is argued that, in Scotland, two factors contributed to making constitutional reform unavoidable from the 1980s on : a major shift in favour of Scottish autonomy in both the cultural and intellectual fields and the creation of a “popular front” in favour of constitutional reform in the shape of the Scottish Constitutional Convention. The paper concludes on a discussion of the contrasting positions of Vernon Bogdanor and Tom Nairn of the state that the United Kingdom is in today.Cet article considère que les propositions de réforme des néo-travaillistes concernant la dévolution doivent être appréhendées comme faisant partie d'une stratégie de « distinction politique » par rapport au parti conservateur, rendue d'autant plus nécessaire par la forte convergence dans la plupart des autres domaines. Après avoir retracé l'évolution du positionnement travailliste sur la question de l'autonomie de la périphérie britannique au cours du XXe siècle, l'analyse se centre sur la période contemporaine. Au cours des années quatre-vingt, le thatchérisme est de plus en plus perçu, en Ecosse comme au pays de Galles comme une doctrine étrangère (aux traditions politiques et philosophiques de ces deux pays), et cette perception renforce la détermination d'une partie de la population de desserrer, voire de rompre les vieux liens constitutionnels. C'est en tenant compte de cette contrainte, que l'on doit analyser le nouveau positionnement des travaillistes comme le parti du mouvement constitutionnel. Deux facteurs en Ecosse ont rendu la réforme constitutionnelle difficile à éviter pour les néo-travaillistes: un changement significatif en faveur de l'autonomie dans les champs intellectuel et culturel et la construction d'un « front populaire » en faveur du changement, sous la forme de la Convention Constitutionnelle Ecossaise. L'article se termine avec une discussion des positions divergentes sur cette question de Vernon Bogdanor et de Tom Nairn

La Cour internationale de Justice et l'exécution des ses arrêts

L'auteur aborde la question du rôle que la Cour internationale de Justice peut jouer pour assurer l’exécution de ses propres arrêts. Sont examinées à cette fin les normes pertinentes du Statut ainsi que leur application judiciaire, la nature de la fonction judiciaire de la Cour telle qu'elle est définie par la jurisprudence de la Cour, ainsi que plus en général la possibilité de reconstruire l'existence d'un pouvoir implicite en matière d'exécution de ses arrêts.The author examines the role that the International Court of Justice can play in ensuring compliance with its own decisions. To that end, the article reviews the relevant provisions of the Statute as they are applied by the Court, the nature of the Court's contentious jurisdiction, and more broadly the possible existence of an implicit power of the Court to review the enforcement of its judgments

Pomiędzy wigami i torysami. Prawo oporu w doktrynie politycznej Davida Hume’a

David Hume offers a well conceived plan for the formation of government and its political workings. Furthermore, he grants that in special circumstances the citizens of a particular government may revolt, but rejects both tory theory of passive disobedience and whig’s justification of revolution. In this article, the Author argues, that with respect to obedience and disloyalty, Hume gives no formal rules for revolution. Unjustified revolutions are denoted by lack of adherence to established practices and want of a genuine cause. They are, rather, motivated by speculative factions subject to fanaticism and enthusiasm which are the foundations of Hume’s political worries. Author concludes that the Hume expressed suspicion of attempts to radical changes of society. His political scepticism, social theory and the rejection of revolution qualified him as conservative thinker