In this major new work of political theory, David Ingram successfully melds the utopian impulse to go beyond the constraints of the current global system with a pragmatic framework that pursues the most effective strategies available in the here and now. I especially liked his sympathetic treatment of identity politics, which has suffered specious attacks from the so-called 'left.' Ingram's version of left politics is one I can feel a part of as a Latina.
Linda Martin Alcoff, Professor of Philosophy, Political Science, and Women's Studies, Syracuse University David Ingram is an American optimist. Reading Rights, Democracy, and Fulfillment in the Era of Identity Politics: Principled Compromises in a Compromised World is, therefore, an uplifting experience. More American optimists are needed. Ingram's work is an important contribution to this goal.
Catherine Dauvergne, University of British Columbia
Law and Politics Book Review
Much of the literature on democracy today is overshadowed by rigid polarities: between universal rights and distinct identity claims, between abstract norms and the striving for well-being or fulfillment. Ingram's book offers a welcome intervention, by showing that many of these dilemmas can be mitigated—not by arbitrary fiat but by compromises that are rationally 'principled.' Prominent compromises investigated are those between deontology and eudaimonism, between Habermasian 'discourse' and Gadamerian 'dialogue,' and between 'preservative' and 'transformative' modes of identity politics. Philosophically rigorous, Ingram's intervention keeps its focus on the concrete agonies of contemporary political, economic, and ethnic struggles. An important contribution to the advancement of equity and democracy in our 'compromised' world.
Fred Dallmayr, University of Notre Dame