| Abstract: | By what authority do social policy analysts evaluate institutions and propose reforms? They have often relied on past traditions of political and moral philosophy, briefly reviewed here, to answer that question. These sources of authority are now failing, and many analysts are moving reluctantly towards a relativist or historicist standpoint which they nevertheless find unattractive. However, by studying institutions, practices and the traditions developed within them, it is possible to formulate and defend a socially embedded morality which will be helpful to policy analysts. Principles derived from it are contestable and liable to change as social circumstances change. But this is a strength, not a weakness, of the approach. Aesthetic reasoning offers helpful paradigms for policy analysis. Social policies and programmes may be derived from moral and political values, but they also help to change them. Indeed, that may be their most important achievement. The paper concludes with questions which teachers and researchers may wish to explore with the help of the concepts set forth here. |
