Loren King
Biographic Data
| ID | 3780026 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Loren King |
| GIVEN NAMES | Loren |
| FAMILY NAME | King |
| SIGNATURE | KING L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wilfrid Laurier University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9825-0750 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 46 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 15 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Subsidiarity in the Shadow of Sovereignty
Forms of informal cooperation, coordination, and action that embody mutuality without hierarchy are the quotidian experience of most people. Only occasionally do they embody implicit or explicit opposition to state law and institutions. Most villages and neighborhoods function precisely because of the informal, transient networks of coordination that do not require formal organization, let alone hierarchy. In other words, the experience of anarch…
How should we do political theory? Reading Rawls on method
James Scott, Seeing Like a State
States see the world in a particular way, simplifying their domains to better rule them. By the early twentieth century, these ordering imperatives coincided with progressive ideals grounded in hopes that scientific and technological progress could shape the world for good. That conceit—that we should use the formidable power of the state to forge grand rational schemes for human improvement—blinded planners to the critical importance of local, c…
Henri Lefebvre and the right to the city
This chapter attempts to excavate and recover the meaning of the phrase “the right to the city. Rather than assuming the orthodox Marxist position that would have us dismiss the notion of a “right” ’ as a mere ideologically based rhetorical device, it is argued here that Lefevbre is best understood as asserting that there is very much a right in the traditional analytic, “bourgeois” understanding of that notion, and that, further, it is a right n…
Global cities, global justice
The global city is a contested site of economic innovation and cultural production, as well as profound inequalities of wealth and life chances. These cities, and large cities that aspire to ‘global’ status, are often the point of entry for new immigrants. Yet for political theorists (and indeed many scholars of global institutions), these critical sites of global influence and inequality have not been a significant focus of attention. This is cu…
Seeing Like a Theorist
W arren M agnusson sees a problem endemic to political thought and practice: we see the world in ways that presume and reaffirm the necessity of a sovereign territorial state, on pain of violent disorder in its absence. The solution is to ‘see like a city’, shaking off the dualism of sovereignty versus anarchy and finding a richer space of political possibilities. I admire and applaud M agnusson's critical efforts to challenge dominant categories…
A Democratic Right to Privacy
Exploitation and Rational Choice
Critics fault rational choice theory for dubious assumptions and limited explanatory power. The aims of rational choice are, however, as much normative as explanatory, and I argue that an abiding concern of political thought—the wrong of exploitation—gives moral weight to some of the more substantive assumptions underlying many rational choice prescriptions.Résumé.Les critiques reprochent à la théorie du choix rationnel d'avancer des hypothèses d…
Liberal Citizenship
In a recent article in Space & Polity, Nezar AlSayyad and Ananya Roy draw suggestive analogies between medieval urban forms and troubling contemporary realities, such as gated urban enclaves and impoverished squatter settlements. Invoking the medieval city as an analytical device, they show how several prevalent urban practices of citizenship are in tension with, and sometimes flatly contradict, liberal complacencies and democratic hopes. However…
Democracy Defended
Democracy Defended , Gerry Mackie, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. xvi, 483. Democracy Defended is a sustained assault on an influential figure in contemporary political science: William Riker, oft-cited founder of the “positive political theory” approach, the emperors of which may or may not be far more shabbily dressed than they care to admit. Mackie's effort is impressive, and will delight those who are already suspicious of R…
The Federal Structure of a Republic of Reasons
Following Rawls, many political liberals hold reasonableness in high regard. Reasonable citizens can disagree, however, and some may find their arguments routinely ignored in elections and legislatures. Should we be troubled by such failures of institutional responsiveness as a matter of justice? The author argues that the expectation of such failures would lead parties in an original position to favor certain classes of institutions over others:…
Democratic Hopes in the Polycentric City
The polycentric model of municipal governance suggests that multiple jurisdictions may approximate an efficient market for local public services: citizens move to jurisdictions offering services they value at tax rates they are willing and able to pay. The model is appealing to political theorists for its emphasis on free association and responsive governance, but problematic insofar as institutions prescribed by the model permit exclusionary pra…
Democracy and City Life
I evaluate the claim that modern urban regions are desirable sites for inclusive forms of democratic governance. Although certain features of city life do hold such promise, I argue that these same features coincide with exclusionary attitudes and activities that undermine democratic hopes. I then clarify the necessary conditions for more inclusive urban democracy, distinguishing my account from prominent criticisms of suburban culture and urban …
Deliberation, Legitimacy, and Multilateral Democracy
Is deliberation essential to legitimate democratic governance? Deliberation may have epistemic value, improving the quality of information and arguments. Deliberation may be transformative, shaping beliefs and opinions. Or deliberation may be part of a conception of justice that constrains authority, by requiring that procedures be justified in terms of reasons acceptable to those burdened by authoritative decisions. Although appealing, the epist…
Economic Growth and Basic Human Needs
An enduring debate in the political economy of development turns upon the question of whether trade-offs exist between economic growth and the equitable provision of basic human needs (such as adequate nutrition, shelter, and education) in poor areas. Much of the empirical work on this "growth-welfare" debate has supported the argument that improvements in basic welfare and enhanced economic performance are mutually reinforcing processes. But if …
Deliberation, Legitimacy, and Multilateral Democracy
Is deliberation essential to legitimate democratic governance? Deliberation may have epistemic value, improving the quality of information and arguments. Deliberation may be transformative, shaping beliefs and opinions. Or deliberation may be part of a conception of justice that constrains authority, by requiring that procedures be justified in terms of reasons acceptable to those burdened by authoritative decisions. Although appealing, the epist…
The Federal Structure of a Republic of Reasons
Following Rawls, many political liberals hold reasonableness in high regard. Reasonable citizens can disagree, however, and some may find their arguments routinely ignored in elections and legislatures. Should we be troubled by such failures of institutional responsiveness as a matter of justice? The author argues that the expectation of such failures would lead parties in an original position to favor certain classes of institutions over others:…
Economic Growth and Basic Human Needs
An enduring debate in the political economy of development turns upon the question of whether trade-offs exist between economic growth and the equitable provision of basic human needs (such as adequate nutrition, shelter, and education) in poor areas. Much of the empirical work on this "growth-welfare" debate has supported the argument that improvements in basic welfare and enhanced economic performance are mutually reinforcing processes. But if …
Democracy and City Life
I evaluate the claim that modern urban regions are desirable sites for inclusive forms of democratic governance. Although certain features of city life do hold such promise, I argue that these same features coincide with exclusionary attitudes and activities that undermine democratic hopes. I then clarify the necessary conditions for more inclusive urban democracy, distinguishing my account from prominent criticisms of suburban culture and urban …
Exploitation and Rational Choice
Critics fault rational choice theory for dubious assumptions and limited explanatory power. The aims of rational choice are, however, as much normative as explanatory, and I argue that an abiding concern of political thought—the wrong of exploitation—gives moral weight to some of the more substantive assumptions underlying many rational choice prescriptions.Résumé.Les critiques reprochent à la théorie du choix rationnel d'avancer des hypothèses d…
Economic Growth and Basic Human Needs
An enduring debate in the political economy of development turns upon the question of whether trade-offs exist between economic growth and the equitable provision of basic human needs (such as adequate nutrition, shelter, and education) in poor areas. Much of the empirical work on this "growth-welfare" debate has supported the argument that improvements in basic welfare and enhanced economic performance are mutually reinforcing processes. But if …
Deliberation, Legitimacy, and Multilateral Democracy
Is deliberation essential to legitimate democratic governance? Deliberation may have epistemic value, improving the quality of information and arguments. Deliberation may be transformative, shaping beliefs and opinions. Or deliberation may be part of a conception of justice that constrains authority, by requiring that procedures be justified in terms of reasons acceptable to those burdened by authoritative decisions. Although appealing, the epist…
Democratic Hopes in the Polycentric City
The polycentric model of municipal governance suggests that multiple jurisdictions may approximate an efficient market for local public services: citizens move to jurisdictions offering services they value at tax rates they are willing and able to pay. The model is appealing to political theorists for its emphasis on free association and responsive governance, but problematic insofar as institutions prescribed by the model permit exclusionary pra…
Democracy and City Life
I evaluate the claim that modern urban regions are desirable sites for inclusive forms of democratic governance. Although certain features of city life do hold such promise, I argue that these same features coincide with exclusionary attitudes and activities that undermine democratic hopes. I then clarify the necessary conditions for more inclusive urban democracy, distinguishing my account from prominent criticisms of suburban culture and urban …
Democracy Defended
Democracy Defended , Gerry Mackie, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. xvi, 483. Democracy Defended is a sustained assault on an influential figure in contemporary political science: William Riker, oft-cited founder of the “positive political theory” approach, the emperors of which may or may not be far more shabbily dressed than they care to admit. Mackie's effort is impressive, and will delight those who are already suspicious of R…
The Federal Structure of a Republic of Reasons
Following Rawls, many political liberals hold reasonableness in high regard. Reasonable citizens can disagree, however, and some may find their arguments routinely ignored in elections and legislatures. Should we be troubled by such failures of institutional responsiveness as a matter of justice? The author argues that the expectation of such failures would lead parties in an original position to favor certain classes of institutions over others:…
Liberal Citizenship
In a recent article in Space & Polity, Nezar AlSayyad and Ananya Roy draw suggestive analogies between medieval urban forms and troubling contemporary realities, such as gated urban enclaves and impoverished squatter settlements. Invoking the medieval city as an analytical device, they show how several prevalent urban practices of citizenship are in tension with, and sometimes flatly contradict, liberal complacencies and democratic hopes. However…
A Democratic Right to Privacy
Exploitation and Rational Choice
Critics fault rational choice theory for dubious assumptions and limited explanatory power. The aims of rational choice are, however, as much normative as explanatory, and I argue that an abiding concern of political thought—the wrong of exploitation—gives moral weight to some of the more substantive assumptions underlying many rational choice prescriptions.Résumé.Les critiques reprochent à la théorie du choix rationnel d'avancer des hypothèses d…
Seeing Like a Theorist
W arren M agnusson sees a problem endemic to political thought and practice: we see the world in ways that presume and reaffirm the necessity of a sovereign territorial state, on pain of violent disorder in its absence. The solution is to ‘see like a city’, shaking off the dualism of sovereignty versus anarchy and finding a richer space of political possibilities. I admire and applaud M agnusson's critical efforts to challenge dominant categories…
Global cities, global justice
The global city is a contested site of economic innovation and cultural production, as well as profound inequalities of wealth and life chances. These cities, and large cities that aspire to ‘global’ status, are often the point of entry for new immigrants. Yet for political theorists (and indeed many scholars of global institutions), these critical sites of global influence and inequality have not been a significant focus of attention. This is cu…
James Scott, Seeing Like a State
States see the world in a particular way, simplifying their domains to better rule them. By the early twentieth century, these ordering imperatives coincided with progressive ideals grounded in hopes that scientific and technological progress could shape the world for good. That conceit—that we should use the formidable power of the state to forge grand rational schemes for human improvement—blinded planners to the critical importance of local, c…
Henri Lefebvre and the right to the city
This chapter attempts to excavate and recover the meaning of the phrase “the right to the city. Rather than assuming the orthodox Marxist position that would have us dismiss the notion of a “right” ’ as a mere ideologically based rhetorical device, it is argued here that Lefevbre is best understood as asserting that there is very much a right in the traditional analytic, “bourgeois” understanding of that notion, and that, further, it is a right n…
Subsidiarity in the Shadow of Sovereignty
Forms of informal cooperation, coordination, and action that embody mutuality without hierarchy are the quotidian experience of most people. Only occasionally do they embody implicit or explicit opposition to state law and institutions. Most villages and neighborhoods function precisely because of the informal, transient networks of coordination that do not require formal organization, let alone hierarchy. In other words, the experience of anarch…
How should we do political theory? Reading Rawls on method
Political science (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Politics (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Law (10 works) · Political Philosophy and Ethics (9 works) · Economics (8 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works)