The value of ideal theory in the freedom charter disobedience
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Date
2015
Authors
Allsobrook, Christopher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of the Humanities, University of the Free State
Abstract
The following article responds to a realist critique of ideal theory in the “official” liberal democratic
account of civil disobedience classically offered by John Rawls. The shortcomings the critical theorist,
Robin Celikates (2014:236), identifies in Rawls’s account follow, “at least, in part, from treating ideal
theory as an independent starting point and working towards a definition of this decidedly nonideal
political practice from there”. The research aims, firstly, to identify and to explain a significant
weakness in “new realist” political theory, and, secondly, to offer direction from our recent historical
past to contemporary struggles for social justice in South Africa today, which suffer from such weakness
in practice. The Freedom Charter is identified as the embodiment of a set of ethical ideals which
exceeds but which may complement Tully’s approach. . Mainstream historical sources are used, firstly,
to identify a serious shortcoming with a dominant approach in political theory, and, secondly, to identify
a significant factor that frustrates the effectiveness of “service delivery” protests today.
Description
Keywords
Civil disobedience, Protest, Ideal theory, New realism, South African politics, Freedom Charter, Rawls, Tully
Citation
Allsobrook, C. (2015). The value of ideal theory in the freedom charter disobedience. Journal for Contemporary History, 40(2), 133-155.