Ben Cro
Biographic Data
| ID | 3698426 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ben Cro |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ben |
| FAMILY NAME | Cro |
| SIGNATURE | BEN CRO |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wuhan University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7649-2820 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 48 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Can narratives about sovereign debt be generally ideologically suspicious? An exercise in broadening the scope of ideology critique
Our interest here is in the fourth of these theories. It strikes us as particularly interesting because it differs significantly from what are perhaps the most familiar notions of ideology. While the most familiar notions of ideology are arguably those which focus on the process of how a belief is generated, Prinz and Rossi (2017, p. 341) “focus not on the process of belief acquisition, but on the formation of the meaning of the relevant concept.…
Is political realism normatively implausible? Normative constraints, actual constraints, and the goals of normative political theory
The Normative Implausibility Objection to political realism holds that, at least insofar as political realism avoids relying on moral norms, it is unable to provide a plausible account of political rightness. My main aim in this article is to show that the Normative Implausibility Objection fails. I first offer an account of the normative resources available to realists that allows some room for moral norms. However, I concede that these normativ…
Is There a “Distinct Religious Sphere”
According to Daniel Philpott (2009, 2019, 2021), religious activity can be understood as meaningfully distinct from political activity. Call this the distinct sphere claim. In this article, I will argue that the distinct sphere claim should be rejected. I will consider three different arguments for the distinct sphere claim that Philpott appears to offer: that it is generally accepted by adherents of religions; that it follows from a suitable def…
What Should We Do about Isis?”
Political theory may sometimes be justifiably regarded as fact-defective, not because of the arguments it makes but because of the topics it focuses on. In short, a topic is fact-defective when it is erroneously presented as a fitting intellectual response to real-world events. To illustrate this, the article examines several articles published in the Critique in 2015 and 2016 and argues that two of the topics covered here are fact-defective: the…
Metaethics as Dead Politics? On Political Normativity and Justification
Getting Realistic About Action-Guidance
Moralists and radical realists both seem to employ a division of intellectual labour to enable their theories to be action-guiding. Moralists typically distinguish between formulating normative principles and devising suitable means for implementing or approximating them. Radical realists, meanwhile, seem to distinguish between the findings of ideology critique and further political theorising informed by these findings. However, radical realist …
Taking rulers' interests seriously
In this article I defend a new argument against moralist theories of legitimacy and in favour of realist theories. Moralist theories, I argue, are vulnerable to ideological and wishful thinking because they do not connect the demands of legitimacy with the interests of rulers. Realist theories, however, generally do manage to make this connection. This is because satisfying the usual realist criteria for legitimacy – the creation of a stable poli…
Realist legitimacy
Most realist theories of legitimacy are internalist theories, meaning that they regard legitimacy as a function of how subjects view their own rulers. However, some realists seek to qualify their internalism by holding that legitimacy is not simply a matter of whether subjects accept their rulers’ exercise of power. According to one such view, legitimacy requires that rulers’ power be ‘acceptable’ to subjects, in the sense that it can be justifie…
Climate Change and the Politics of Apocalyptic Redirection
Alison McQueen’s study of the historical role of apocalyptic ideas in realist political theory cautiously proposes the ‘redirection’ of apocalyptic thought as a plausible alternative to its rejection. Apocalyptic redirection, so understood, uses apocalyptic language to describe potential future catastrophes in order to inspire drastic action to prevent them. Although McQueen acknowledges that apocalyptic redirection may have certain risks, she su…
Apocalypticism as Radical Realism? On the Dangers and Benefits of Wishful Thinking in Prefigurative Politics
In this article, I aim to bring apocalypticism and radical realism into conversation, with a view to their mutual interest in prefigurative politics. On one hand, radical realists may worry that an apocalyptic approach to prefigurative politics may be marred by wishful thinking. On the other hand, radical realists can (and sometimes do) acknowledge that wishful thinking is sometimes desirable. I argue that an apocalyptic approach to prefigurative…
How radical is radical realism
Radical realism is distinguished in part from other forms of political realism by its more explicit anti‐status quo objectives. In particular, radical realists generally reject the legitimacy of liberal political institutions, and often defend some version of Marxism or anarchism. However, critics of radical realism sometimes argue that radical realist's aversion to certain kinds of normative theorising hinders their capacity to criticize the sta…
Participation and legitimacy in Chinese environmental politics
Recent empirical literature suggests that some of the most prominent environmental policies that the Chinese government has pursued have involved at least some measure of participation from citizens. These findings suggest that at least some political authorities in China believe that effective environmental policies will require more participation. However, since the accounts of political legitimacy promulgated by the Chinese government have bee…
Normativity in Realist Legitimacy
Political realists reject the view that politics is applied morality. But they also usually claim that judgements about political legitimacy are normative. Where, then, does this normativity come from? So far, realists have given two answers: ‘concessive realism’, which identifies legitimacy as a norm internal to political practice while delegating to morality the task of explaining why this practice is valuable; and ‘naturalist realism’, which h…
Normativity and Radical Disadvantage in Bernard Williams’ Realist Theory of Legitimacy
Radicalizing realist legitimacy
Several critics of realist theories of political legitimacy have alleged that it possesses a problematic bias towards the status quo. This bias is thought to be reflected in the way in which these theories are more willing to accommodate potentially severe injustices which may exist in real societies. In this article, I focus on the most widely discussed realist theory of legitimacy, namely that of Bernard Williams. I argue that it is not only fr…
Why Inconclusiveness is a Problem for Public Reason
Intolerance and Argument Expression
Most philosophers seem to think that argument expression is not normally a form of intolerance. Call this the ‘argument-friendly view’ of intolerance. In this article, I argue that the case for the argument-friendly view is much weaker than commonly thought. I consider three possible arguments for the argument-friendly view and conclude that all three fail. This leaves us with a choice: either reject the argument-friendly view, or accept it as a …
Deliberative systems theory and activism
Many have argued that deliberative democracy has, at best, an uncomfortable relationship with activism. It might be thought that deliberative democracy faces an inescapable dilemma: either restrict activist conduct in ways that might exacerbate real-world injustices, or restrict its normative claims to the realm of ideal theory, making it largely irrelevant to the real world. The idea of a deliberative system, however, may seem capable of handlin…
Autonomy and moral deference
The idea that a person might have a duty to defer to the moral judgments of others is typically something that arouses our suspicion, in ways that other kinds of deference do not. One explanation for this is the value of autonomy. According to this explanation, people have a duty to be autonomous, and any act of deferring to another person’s moral judgement is not an autonomous action. Call this “the Autonomy Argument” against moral deference. In…
Public Reason and the Exclusion of Oppressed Groups
The ‘consensus’ model of public reason, associated with John Rawls’s political liberalism, has been criticised for excluding certain reasons from receiving consideration where the justification of the constitutional essentials is concerned. One limitation of these criticisms is that they typically focus on the exclusion of reasons political liberals are committed to excluding, notably reasons based on religious and comprehensive views. I argue th…
Normativity in Chantal Mouffe's Political Realism
Apocalypticism as Radical Realism? On the Dangers and Benefits of Wishful Thinking in Prefigurative Politics
In this article, I aim to bring apocalypticism and radical realism into conversation, with a view to their mutual interest in prefigurative politics. On one hand, radical realists may worry that an apocalyptic approach to prefigurative politics may be marred by wishful thinking. On the other hand, radical realists can (and sometimes do) acknowledge that wishful thinking is sometimes desirable. I argue that an apocalyptic approach to prefigurative…
Taking rulers' interests seriously
In this article I defend a new argument against moralist theories of legitimacy and in favour of realist theories. Moralist theories, I argue, are vulnerable to ideological and wishful thinking because they do not connect the demands of legitimacy with the interests of rulers. Realist theories, however, generally do manage to make this connection. This is because satisfying the usual realist criteria for legitimacy – the creation of a stable poli…
Normativity in Realist Legitimacy
Political realists reject the view that politics is applied morality. But they also usually claim that judgements about political legitimacy are normative. Where, then, does this normativity come from? So far, realists have given two answers: ‘concessive realism’, which identifies legitimacy as a norm internal to political practice while delegating to morality the task of explaining why this practice is valuable; and ‘naturalist realism’, which h…
Radicalizing realist legitimacy
Several critics of realist theories of political legitimacy have alleged that it possesses a problematic bias towards the status quo. This bias is thought to be reflected in the way in which these theories are more willing to accommodate potentially severe injustices which may exist in real societies. In this article, I focus on the most widely discussed realist theory of legitimacy, namely that of Bernard Williams. I argue that it is not only fr…
Normativity in Chantal Mouffe's Political Realism
Climate Change and the Politics of Apocalyptic Redirection
Alison McQueen’s study of the historical role of apocalyptic ideas in realist political theory cautiously proposes the ‘redirection’ of apocalyptic thought as a plausible alternative to its rejection. Apocalyptic redirection, so understood, uses apocalyptic language to describe potential future catastrophes in order to inspire drastic action to prevent them. Although McQueen acknowledges that apocalyptic redirection may have certain risks, she su…
Getting Realistic About Action-Guidance
Moralists and radical realists both seem to employ a division of intellectual labour to enable their theories to be action-guiding. Moralists typically distinguish between formulating normative principles and devising suitable means for implementing or approximating them. Radical realists, meanwhile, seem to distinguish between the findings of ideology critique and further political theorising informed by these findings. However, radical realist …
Realist legitimacy
Most realist theories of legitimacy are internalist theories, meaning that they regard legitimacy as a function of how subjects view their own rulers. However, some realists seek to qualify their internalism by holding that legitimacy is not simply a matter of whether subjects accept their rulers’ exercise of power. According to one such view, legitimacy requires that rulers’ power be ‘acceptable’ to subjects, in the sense that it can be justifie…
Participation and legitimacy in Chinese environmental politics
Recent empirical literature suggests that some of the most prominent environmental policies that the Chinese government has pursued have involved at least some measure of participation from citizens. These findings suggest that at least some political authorities in China believe that effective environmental policies will require more participation. However, since the accounts of political legitimacy promulgated by the Chinese government have bee…
Deliberative systems theory and activism
Many have argued that deliberative democracy has, at best, an uncomfortable relationship with activism. It might be thought that deliberative democracy faces an inescapable dilemma: either restrict activist conduct in ways that might exacerbate real-world injustices, or restrict its normative claims to the realm of ideal theory, making it largely irrelevant to the real world. The idea of a deliberative system, however, may seem capable of handlin…
Autonomy and moral deference
The idea that a person might have a duty to defer to the moral judgments of others is typically something that arouses our suspicion, in ways that other kinds of deference do not. One explanation for this is the value of autonomy. According to this explanation, people have a duty to be autonomous, and any act of deferring to another person’s moral judgement is not an autonomous action. Call this “the Autonomy Argument” against moral deference. In…
Public Reason and the Exclusion of Oppressed Groups
The ‘consensus’ model of public reason, associated with John Rawls’s political liberalism, has been criticised for excluding certain reasons from receiving consideration where the justification of the constitutional essentials is concerned. One limitation of these criticisms is that they typically focus on the exclusion of reasons political liberals are committed to excluding, notably reasons based on religious and comprehensive views. I argue th…
Normativity in Chantal Mouffe's Political Realism
Why Inconclusiveness is a Problem for Public Reason
Intolerance and Argument Expression
Most philosophers seem to think that argument expression is not normally a form of intolerance. Call this the ‘argument-friendly view’ of intolerance. In this article, I argue that the case for the argument-friendly view is much weaker than commonly thought. I consider three possible arguments for the argument-friendly view and conclude that all three fail. This leaves us with a choice: either reject the argument-friendly view, or accept it as a …
Deliberative systems theory and activism
Many have argued that deliberative democracy has, at best, an uncomfortable relationship with activism. It might be thought that deliberative democracy faces an inescapable dilemma: either restrict activist conduct in ways that might exacerbate real-world injustices, or restrict its normative claims to the realm of ideal theory, making it largely irrelevant to the real world. The idea of a deliberative system, however, may seem capable of handlin…
Normativity and Radical Disadvantage in Bernard Williams’ Realist Theory of Legitimacy
Radicalizing realist legitimacy
Several critics of realist theories of political legitimacy have alleged that it possesses a problematic bias towards the status quo. This bias is thought to be reflected in the way in which these theories are more willing to accommodate potentially severe injustices which may exist in real societies. In this article, I focus on the most widely discussed realist theory of legitimacy, namely that of Bernard Williams. I argue that it is not only fr…
Participation and legitimacy in Chinese environmental politics
Recent empirical literature suggests that some of the most prominent environmental policies that the Chinese government has pursued have involved at least some measure of participation from citizens. These findings suggest that at least some political authorities in China believe that effective environmental policies will require more participation. However, since the accounts of political legitimacy promulgated by the Chinese government have bee…
Normativity in Realist Legitimacy
Political realists reject the view that politics is applied morality. But they also usually claim that judgements about political legitimacy are normative. Where, then, does this normativity come from? So far, realists have given two answers: ‘concessive realism’, which identifies legitimacy as a norm internal to political practice while delegating to morality the task of explaining why this practice is valuable; and ‘naturalist realism’, which h…
How radical is radical realism
Radical realism is distinguished in part from other forms of political realism by its more explicit anti‐status quo objectives. In particular, radical realists generally reject the legitimacy of liberal political institutions, and often defend some version of Marxism or anarchism. However, critics of radical realism sometimes argue that radical realist's aversion to certain kinds of normative theorising hinders their capacity to criticize the sta…
Realist legitimacy
Most realist theories of legitimacy are internalist theories, meaning that they regard legitimacy as a function of how subjects view their own rulers. However, some realists seek to qualify their internalism by holding that legitimacy is not simply a matter of whether subjects accept their rulers’ exercise of power. According to one such view, legitimacy requires that rulers’ power be ‘acceptable’ to subjects, in the sense that it can be justifie…
Climate Change and the Politics of Apocalyptic Redirection
Alison McQueen’s study of the historical role of apocalyptic ideas in realist political theory cautiously proposes the ‘redirection’ of apocalyptic thought as a plausible alternative to its rejection. Apocalyptic redirection, so understood, uses apocalyptic language to describe potential future catastrophes in order to inspire drastic action to prevent them. Although McQueen acknowledges that apocalyptic redirection may have certain risks, she su…
Apocalypticism as Radical Realism? On the Dangers and Benefits of Wishful Thinking in Prefigurative Politics
In this article, I aim to bring apocalypticism and radical realism into conversation, with a view to their mutual interest in prefigurative politics. On one hand, radical realists may worry that an apocalyptic approach to prefigurative politics may be marred by wishful thinking. On the other hand, radical realists can (and sometimes do) acknowledge that wishful thinking is sometimes desirable. I argue that an apocalyptic approach to prefigurative…
Metaethics as Dead Politics? On Political Normativity and Justification
Getting Realistic About Action-Guidance
Moralists and radical realists both seem to employ a division of intellectual labour to enable their theories to be action-guiding. Moralists typically distinguish between formulating normative principles and devising suitable means for implementing or approximating them. Radical realists, meanwhile, seem to distinguish between the findings of ideology critique and further political theorising informed by these findings. However, radical realist …
Taking rulers' interests seriously
In this article I defend a new argument against moralist theories of legitimacy and in favour of realist theories. Moralist theories, I argue, are vulnerable to ideological and wishful thinking because they do not connect the demands of legitimacy with the interests of rulers. Realist theories, however, generally do manage to make this connection. This is because satisfying the usual realist criteria for legitimacy – the creation of a stable poli…
Can narratives about sovereign debt be generally ideologically suspicious? An exercise in broadening the scope of ideology critique
Our interest here is in the fourth of these theories. It strikes us as particularly interesting because it differs significantly from what are perhaps the most familiar notions of ideology. While the most familiar notions of ideology are arguably those which focus on the process of how a belief is generated, Prinz and Rossi (2017, p. 341) “focus not on the process of belief acquisition, but on the formation of the meaning of the relevant concept.…
Is political realism normatively implausible? Normative constraints, actual constraints, and the goals of normative political theory
The Normative Implausibility Objection to political realism holds that, at least insofar as political realism avoids relying on moral norms, it is unable to provide a plausible account of political rightness. My main aim in this article is to show that the Normative Implausibility Objection fails. I first offer an account of the normative resources available to realists that allows some room for moral norms. However, I concede that these normativ…
Is There a “Distinct Religious Sphere”
According to Daniel Philpott (2009, 2019, 2021), religious activity can be understood as meaningfully distinct from political activity. Call this the distinct sphere claim. In this article, I will argue that the distinct sphere claim should be rejected. I will consider three different arguments for the distinct sphere claim that Philpott appears to offer: that it is generally accepted by adherents of religions; that it follows from a suitable def…
What Should We Do about Isis?”
Political theory may sometimes be justifiably regarded as fact-defective, not because of the arguments it makes but because of the topics it focuses on. In short, a topic is fact-defective when it is erroneously presented as a fitting intellectual response to real-world events. To illustrate this, the article examines several articles published in the Critique in 2015 and 2016 and argues that two of the topics covered here are fact-defective: the…
Philosophy (20 works) · Epistemology (19 works) · Law (18 works) · Political science (18 works) · Politics (17 works) · Sociology (17 works) · Political Philosophy and Ethics (14 works) · Law (12 works) · Philosophy (12 works) · Law and economics (10 works)