Pluralism

Pluralism generally is defined as the quality or state of being plural. Often, pluralism is used in the context of political science, particularly related to modern democracy. David Truman and Robert Dahl are two important exponents of political pluralism, which typically has competed with elitism and majoritarianism as a view of modern democratic societies. In its essence, political pluralism is the idea that individuals form interest groups that then compete with each other for favorable government policies. No group has more inherent power than another, and public officials (after lobbying by the interest groups) decide on policy based on their views of the public interest. An important feature of political pluralism is the understanding that competing groups' values are equally valid—that is, the claims made by interest groups cannot be ranked generically, allowing public officials to exercise their judgment in making policy decisions.

Applied to moral philosophy, the above definition typically translates to the idea that more than one moral principle, or more than one intrinsic good, are equally and universally valid. This definition places moral pluralism in contrast both with monism (the idea that one and only one principle is always and everywhere valid) and with subjectivism (the idea that no principle is universally valid).

Isaiah Berlin, perhaps the most well-known pluralist thinker of the 20th century, worked in both political and moral philosophy. Berlin emphasized objective pluralism (objective meaning that human values are part of the essence of humanity), which he wished to contrast with subjectivism. For Berlin, there were many different and irreducible values (also called ends or intrinsic goods) that men could seek. Although humans can understand others' values, and perhaps even admire them, because of their irreducible plurality, those values will at times be incompatible, and there is no common yardstick by which to judge which value is more important. In a political context, Berlin infers from this that people should be allowed as much freedom as possible, compatible with freedom for all; in a moral context, he infers that people with different values should respect each other. He does, of course, allow for the possibility of people, groups, and societies being wrong and of the necessity to fight those who are.

An example of a pluralistic theory that includes principles is that of Sir David Ross, a British academic like Berlin. Ross's theory is deontological in nature as well as pluralistic. He gives seven types of duties, none of which are seen to be more basic than any of the others, and three or four intrinsic goods. The duties include fidelity (keeping an explicit or implicit promise), reparation (making up for a previous wrong), gratitude (paying someone back for a good deed), justice (ensuring that people get what they deserve), beneficence (helping people in certain ways when we can), self-improvement (trying to improve our own condition in terms of virtue or knowledge), and nonmaleficence (not harming others). The intrinsic goods Ross lists are virtue, knowledge, justice (pleasure in proportion to virtue), and (at times) pleasure. When duties or intrinsic goods conflict, Ross calls on us to use our moral judgment to decide, all things considered, what is the proper action in the specific situation.

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