Being Realistic about Political Normativity

Contributing to the growing debate over political realism, I argue for an often eschewed conception of political normativity that is formally and substantively distinct from moral normativity. Informed by the actual practice of politics but compatible with a variety of practicefriendly (if not practice-based) theories of normativity and practical reason, political normativity, I propose, is better understood by the practitioner's commitment to acquiring (and maintaining) power, which is an unequal standing in relation to others. This is diametrically opposed to any version of our mainstream moral normativity whose commitment involves equal standing with others. The lack of a mutually recognized normative authority between the two normativities suggests that neither moral nor political normativity has the definitive authority over the other normativity.