Abstract of "Public Reason and Cultural Pluralism: Political Liberalism and the Problem of Moral Conflict" by Bohm, James

Author Abstract

"Moral conflicts are often difficult to resolve because the parties lack a reasonable, common basis for settling their disagreements. Standard liberal solutions, modeled on religious liberty and tolerance, are not enough to resolve these deep moral disagreements. In fact, democratic arrangements may turn out to worsen the difficulties associated with cultural and moral pluralism. When parties do not debate issues from the same moral and political framework, they are caught in "deep" conflict. Bohman discusses the problem of irreconcilable moral values and explores what sort of role rational deliberation might play in resolving moral conflict."