Justice In Macintyre's After Virtue

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However, MacIntyre does not think that a state putting forth such a thin conception of the good can rationally settle competing theories of justice (chapter 17 in After Virtue is devoted to this argument). Just as debates in public morality, such as abortion, cannot be settled rationally by members of society, neither can philosophers or a nation’s citizens settle the debates on justice. Though interesting, the validity of this argument will not be explored here, as the objective of this section is not to carefully examine why MacIntyre thinks the neutralist state fails, Given that MacIntyre is attacking the political justification of “neutralist states,” it is important clarify what he mean by these terms. First of all, a state is an entity

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