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Liberal ethics in South Africa since 1948 : power, principle and responsible action

This dissertation examines a four part hypothesis: (a) that liberal ethics in South Africa, particularly since the victory of the (Afrikaner) National Party in 1948, have been characterised by a sense of political powerlessness; (b) that as a consequence of this powerlessness, these ethics have been more concerned with principle, motives, conscience and internal consistency than with the consequences of liberal action; (c) that this sense of powerlessness is not justified in the social and political environment of the 1980's; and therefore, (d) that liberals should review their ethical approach with a view to developing an ethic of responsible liberal action.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/15832
Date January 1985
CreatorsGodsell, R M
PublisherUniversity of Cape Town, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Political Studies
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeMaster Thesis, Masters, MA
Formatapplication/pdf

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