This thesis examines whether Muslims qua Muslims can regard as legitimate the demands of citizenship in a non-Muslim liberal democracy. This involves asking whether requirements such as living in and being loyal to a non-Muslim state, regarding non- Muslims as political equals with whom one might co-operate socially and politically, contributing to non-Muslim welfare and participating in non-Muslim political systems can be regarded as legitimate practices. It is an exercise in what John Rawls referred to as 'conjecture', or the attempt to examine and argue for the existence of an overlapping consensus between a liberal political conception of justice or citizenship and a particular comprehensive ethical doctrine. Chapter One examines the status of conjecture in political theory and the place of the idea of an overlapping consensus in liberal justification, followed by a proposal for a methodology for this type of comparative political theory. Chapter Two deals with the precise demands liberalism places on citizens, and the particular concerns of Muslims living in non-Muslim states. I show that before we can discuss the central liberal concerns of justifying state neutrality and individual freedoms to revise one's conception of the good, it is necessary to look at a series of questions related to Muslim belonging, loyalty and solidarity in a non-Muslim state. I then present and defend a conception of liberal citizenship in response to certain challenges and concerns of Islamic political ethics. Chapters Three through Five then deal with the range of Islamic responses to the demands of liberal citizenship as I presented them. Chapter Three considers the question of residence in a non-Muslim state and whether the most common justifications for such residence can be considered compatible with liberal conceptions of a well-ordered society. Chapter Four examines the problems of political obligation and loyalty - whether Muslims can in good faith meet their obligations of loyalty to both the global community of fellow believers and their state of citizenship. Chapter Five deals with questions of recognition and solidarity - whether Muslims can recognise non-Muslims as political equals, form relationships based on justice, contribute to their welfare and participate in a common political system. All three chapters demonstrate that very strong and authentically Islamic arguments exist for accepting all of the above demands of citizenship, many being found even in medieval works of Islamic jurisprudence. Crucially, Islamic arguments shown to support the idea of an overlapping consensus also vindicate many of the claims of Rawlsian political liberalism to be a more appealing form of liberalism to non-liberals precisely because of its abstention from claims to metaphysical truth.

This thesis is a case-study of an ongoing court case between the Swedish Competition Agency and Växjö Municipality about a set-up requirement to the long-distance heating system for newly built private houses on municipality owned land. This requirement was set up as part of the municipality’s long-term environmental goals; however the Competition Agency claims that the demand is damaging the free market in the municipality. The purpose of this thesis is to determine which normative assumptions the decision makers have based their actions and re-action on, and whether or not these assumptions are valid, thru theoretical ideal types. This is determined via method of textual analysis. Political theory regarding Liberalism, Utilitarianism, Ecology, Freedom and Exorcise of Power are all part of the theoretical framework.  After concluded study it is possible to say that the two plenipotentiary powers operate under different ideological assumptions and an understanding between them will be a difficult task, but none the less an important one for the possibility of future long-term environmental policies, both in the municipality of Växjö and the county of Sweden as a whole.

In Canada, the growth and intensity of neo-liberal governance and philosophy, which includes idealizing a self-sufficient and independent citizenry continues to inform public policies at the federal and provincial levels. These policies, in turn, have implications for individuals’ health and well-being. Health implications are further visible and intensified along gender, class and ethnic lines. In this study, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with eight low income single mothers who had been affected by employment and assistance policies and regulations in British Columbia. The findings revealed the ways in which these women were affected by neo-liberal policy initiatives that held them individually accountable and responsible for managing their life circumstances in order to achieve the expectations bestowed upon them as citizens. It also revealed the inequalities that existed at the intersection of gender, class and ethnicity. The findings point to the need to address the policy barriers that confront lone mothers. / Graduate / 0630 / 0628 / amyh@uvic.ca

This thesis examines why, in spite of three decades of EO policy, workplace inequality persists between women and men. At the heart of this is the explicit question of whether the law is an effective vehicle for change. This thesis researches and analyses the four predominant areas in the EO policy process: EU approach to EO policy, national approach to EO policy, company approach to EO policy, and employee approach to and use of EO policy. This thesis argues that a liberal approach to the law (men's rules for women's rights) is not an effective means of attaining equality. In terms of both policy content and the process of policy making the status quo is upheld rather than challenged. In terms of policy content, the current trend for reconciliation of work and family, aimed predominantly at women, upholds the 'mother as carer' archetype. This has a marked effect even on women who are not mothers: childless women suffer from anticipatory discrimination yet do not benefit from child based policies. Importantly, this thesis shows that at a workplace with a more traditional EO policy awareness and use of EO policy, as well as attitude towards it, are all low. However, at a workplace with a more proactive EO policy, based on the inclusion of all groups of workers, these three areas are marked considerably higher. Despite their increased presence, women may continue to be marginaIised from policy making because they approach politics differently from men. The things women value, such as conciliation, inclusion, and the pooling of ideas, lose out to the confrontational 'power over' style of a political system designed for men. Research of UK MEP's demonstrates that women and men have different attitudes towards working women, towards EO policy, and towards the changes necessary to affect equality for women. Crucially, unless women's alternative approach is allowed to sit alongside the more traditional liberal approach to policy making, women will continue to be marginalised politically. However, women should not wait for change to happen, but orchestrate their own liberation. Women need to start setting the beat by banging their drums.

Neo-liberal political-economic ideology, theory and practice have had an immense influence on public and private life across the world, including the delivery of health care, and neo-liberalism has become the dominant economic paradigm. Market practices, business management theories and practices, and private enterprise have become increasingly significant in health care, as the welfare state and public health services have been challenged by factors such as rising costs, economic efficiency, globalisation and increasing competitive demands. The question of how, and to what extent, neo-liberalism has influenced contemporary health care is, however, deserving of more critical attention. This thesis examines the neo-liberal approach to, and effect on, contemporary health care, in the context of Western developed countries, and offers a conceptual analysis of the theoretical and ideological framework of neo-liberalism, especially regarding its ethical and moral underpinnings. Additionally, this thesis is concerned with the moral nature of health care. The objectives of this thesis are to articulate and analyse the neo-liberal interpretive framework, moral values and language; and to articulate and analyse the neo-liberal approach to, and effect on, contemporary health care. Thus, it is the intention that this thesis will provide a framework for reflection on the context of contemporary health care in Western developed countries and the influence of neo-liberalism. To achieve these objectives, the research strategy of this thesis is that of philosophical inquiry, additionally drawing on political philosophy; and the research is, therefore, basic, theoretical research. This thesis finds that neo-liberalism, and the neo-liberal approach to health care, is a highly complex theory and ideology, constituted of several intricate concepts and moral underpinnings. It is found that the neo-liberal approach affects the nature and purpose of health care, for example by making health care part of the free, competitive market, by commodifying health care, and by replacing the notions of the common good, social justice and public health care with an emphasis on the rational, self-interested consumer, individual responsibility and self-sufficiency. Another essential aspect of the neo-liberal approach is that it emphasises the ability to pay (user-pays system), rather than health care need, as the dominant determinant in health care. Furthermore, this thesis finds that the neo-liberal ideology excludes the ontological complexity and reality of the human condition, and in health care this has consequences in relation to, for example, interdependency, interrelationships, vulnerability and need. In essence, this thesis finds that there are several pragmatic and moral problems with applying a neo-liberal approach to health care, and that the complexities, irregularities, and unpredictability of health care make a neo-liberal approach difficult to realise in health care. The neo-liberal approach undermines the moral purposes of health care, and it is concluded that the neo-liberal approach offers no well-founded moral alternative to the universalistic, solidarity based approach common in most Western developed countries (except in the United States). This thesis seeks to add to the knowledge and literature concerning neo-liberalism, especially as regards its moral underpinnings and normative framework, and, furthermore, concerning the neo-liberal approach to, and effect on, contemporary health care in Western developed countries. Additionally, this thesis seeks to contribute to the knowledge of philosophical inquiry by documenting the method of 'doing' philosophical inquiry. Based on the research in this thesis, it is clear that there is a need for more empirical research into the pragmatic consequences of applying neo-liberal policies and practices to health care, and the analysis in this thesis could favorably serve as a basis for empirical inquiry.

"This study is an investigation of progress in Australia over the 20th century. Progress is defined here as the enhancement of human wellbeing. For the purposes of this study, human wellbeing will be characterised by five main components: knowledge, environment, economy, individual and social. Enhancement refers to positive directional change in terms of these components. The study firstly develops a framework to conceptualise progress. It then collects and uses statistical data in a descriptive study of what happened in Australia, over those 100 years, in terms of progress in general and in terms of its components. The study also develops a typology of relationships for models of progress, which best explain the Australian data. This study finally explores some of the relationships between the elements that make up the components of progress and looks at ways to best explain what has happened..." --p.1. / Doctor of Philosophy

"This study is an investigation of progress in Australia over the 20th century. Progress is defined here as the enhancement of human wellbeing. For the purposes of this study, human wellbeing will be characterised by five main components: knowledge, environment, economy, individual and social. Enhancement refers to positive directional change in terms of these components. The study firstly develops a framework to conceptualise progress. It then collects and uses statistical data in a descriptive study of what happened in Australia, over those 100 years, in terms of progress in general and in terms of its components. The study also develops a typology of relationships for models of progress, which best explain the Australian data. This study finally explores some of the relationships between the elements that make up the components of progress and looks at ways to best explain what has happened..." --p.1. / Doctor of Philosophy

xi, 711 leaves ; 30 cm / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of History, 1980

This study addresses the dialectic between two kinds of liberal political philosophy which have strongly influenced Western politics, and remain highly relevant to current debates – libertarian theory and social-liberal theory. In particular, it examines how representative theories on both sides are based on claims about our human nature as reasoning, self- determining, individual agents; and claims about how this nature may be fulsomely expressed or inhibited under different kinds of socio-political conditions. I show that broadly naturalistic claims of this sort support normative claims about aspects of our nature we ought to value, and about the kind of political system we ought to prefer. Social-liberals and libertarians disagree about how human capacities for reasoning, self-determining agency will tend to fare within a liberal State-free market political system. This leads them to different conclusions about the role of the State. The overall approach is to test the relevant claims about our nature and social psychology against current theory and evidence in cognitive neuroscience and epidemiology, and then to interpret the normative implications for each political position. At the heart of the project is a neuroscience-based model of capacities for everyday social reasoning and decision making (‘SRD’ capacities), which I claim offers a plausible, evidence-based account of universal human capacities which both social-liberals and libertarians claim to value. Once in place, the model is employed for critical analysis of data in epidemiological research into aspects of mental health within Western populations. I conclude that certain socioeconomic circumstances commonly encountered within Western societies causally contribute to detrimental impacts on SRD capacities, in the form of psychiatric disorders or diversion behaviours. This material is then used to reinterpret the normative claims of libertarians and social- liberals. I argue that the kind of political system recommended by libertarians will tend to generate conditions which have significant detrimental effects on SRD capacities, which they claim to value; and do so to a greater extent than a social-liberal system. This puts libertarians out of step with their own basic values and initial arguments justifying a liberal State. The libertarian system will also tend to create significant social risks and costs, to the point of being self-undermining. A social-liberal system will tend to mitigate these risks and costs. Thus I argue that, if SRD capacities are regarded as valuable, we have reason to prefer a social-liberal system over a libertarian system. However, in the light of the proposed model, I claim that the ‘standard’ form of contemporary social-liberal politics and programs also has weaknesses. Familiar forms of egalitarian social program partially address some social conditions implicated in undermining SRD capacities, but there are other aspects of the problem which are outrunning the usual methods. The associated risks and liabilities are still cause for prudential concern. A more creative and psychologically astute politics is required. In conclusion I make a number of proposals in that direction, and claim that the project as a whole offers elements of a new social-liberal theory. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1457630 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2009

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Leipzig. / Issued also in the sieres: Leipziger historische Abhandlungen ; Heft 37. Vita. Bibliography: p. [v]-viii.