The natural law has much to contribute to our rights-focused political discourse. Three strategies can help those committed to the natural law to bring this contribution to bear in our time. My title assumes that there is a real difference between natural law and natural rights—perhaps even a “tension” or, worst of all, a “contradiction.” […]
LATEST ARTICLES
Do We Need a Natural Law Theory of the State?
Is natural law equipped to ground a normative theory of the liberal democratic state in this era of the great struggle between globalization and its opponents? Forty years ago, the famed Canadian political theorist C.B. Macpherson asked the political science community a question: Do we need a theory of the state? Macpherson was a social […]
Natural Justice and the Amistad
John Quincy Adams’ oral argument in the Amistad case is notable for its explicit appeal to the authority of the Declaration of Independence and to the practical political relevance of “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” John Quincy Adams – son of the Revolution, former president, and sitting Massachusetts congressman – appeared at […]
Executive Exoneration to Congressional Clemency
The presidential pardoning power is valuable, but it must be circumscribed to a much greater extent than it currently is if it is to continue to have a positive effect on the governmental system of the United States. One of the most unique aspects of the US Constitution is the presidential power to pardon those […]
Author Interview with Mark Alznauer
A Political Theory Review interview with Mark Alznauer, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Northwestern University, about his recent book, Hegel’s Theory of Responsibility (Cambridge University Press, 2015). Hear more interviews from The Political Theory Review.
