CHAPTER SIX READING QUESTIONS – COMMUNITARIANISM
1. Briefly define “communitarianism” and include in your definition at least two different versions of
communitarianism discussed in the chapter.
2. What are the objections and complaints about liberals, utilitarians, libertarians, liberal egalitarians made by
communitarians?
3. Discuss the self-determination versus paternalism debate. Who is accused of being “paternalistic?” In what ways
is paternalism defended? Why is it attacked? What is “self-determination?” What are the objections to selfdetermination?
4. When liberals defend their version of the good life they rely on a key principle: that “lives are led better from the
inside.” Explain what this means and how it is used to defend a liberal conception of the good life. How might
this compare to a “theocratic” vision of a good life?
5. For liberals what exactly does the “neutral state” provide to ensure the “good life” from a liberal point of view?
Why do communitarians think this insufficient?
6. Compare liberal and communitarian conceptions of the “common good.” How do liberals decide what counts as
the “common good?” How do communitarians go about deciding what counts as the “common good”?
7. How do communitarians and Marxists differ when it comes to the “common good?”
8. Explain the difference between the liberal view of the self (the unencumbered self) and the communitarian view
of self (the embedded or situated self)
9. Define “weak communitarianism” – and discuss some of the objections to weak communitarianism by liberals.
10. What is meant by “rational revise ability” as used by liberals when discussing their version of the self?