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Article: Pluralism and civic virtue.(Report)
- Article from:
- Social Theory and Practice
- Article date:
- October 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Social Theory and Practice-Florida State University. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Human Virtue and Civic Virtue
Human virtue is one thing, civic virtue another. Human virtue is desirable for its own sake, for all individuals. While modes of enactment may shift from culture to culture, its basic content does not vary among individuals, regardless of their time, place, or circumstances. By contrast, civic virtue is valued instrumentally, for its contribution to sustaining a political community. Because communities differ--in principles, purposes, institutions, and history--the substance of civic virtue varies from community to community. (This is not to say that there are no civic virtues common to all communities.) Human and civic virtue, then, ...