@article{TEXTUAL,
      recid = {7728},
      author = {Laurence, Ben},
      title = {Justice in Theory and Practice: Debates about Utopianism  and Political Action},
      journal = {Philosophy Compass},
      address = {2023-08-30},
      number = {TEXTUAL},
      abstract = {This essay provide an overview of debates about the method  of political philosophy that have recently gripped the  field, focusing on the relationship of theory to practice.  These debates can be usefully organized using two  oppositions that together carve the field into three broad  families of views. Call “practicalism” the view that the  theory of justice exists to guide political action. Call  “utopianism” the view that reflection on the idea of a just  society plays an important role in the theory of justice.  Call the view that combines the two positions, “utopian  practicalism”. On this view, reflection on the nature of a  just society has an important role to play in guiding  action. There would appear to be two ways to depart from  this position: by rejecting the view's utopianism or its  practicalism. So we find in the literature three broad  camps: utopian practicalists, anti-utopians, and  anti-practicalists. This essay provide an opinionated  overview the ongoing debates between these three broad  positions. It touches on the recent cases against  practicalism by G.A. Cohen and David Estlund, the  comparativist methodologies advocated by anti-utopians such  as Amartya Sen and Gerry Gaus, and systems failure  approaches of Elizabeth Anderson and David Wiens. It also  considers the recent development of novel utopian  practicalist perspectives in the work of theorists  including Erik Wright, Tommie Shelby, Lea Ypi, Pablo  Gilabert, and Ben Laurence.},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/7728},
}