From the Best to the Rest : Idealistic Thinking in a Non-Ideal World

From the Best to the Rest explores the role of idealistic political models in understanding real-world politics. David Wiens argues against using these models as guides for what we should do but shows how we can still use them to sharpen our explanations of how politics works and how to make things better. By examining how political thinkers use these models, the book reveals both their limitations and their hidden value. It offers a fresh perspective on long-standing debates about idealistic thought in political inquiry. Ultimately, Wiens suggests a new way to use idealistic thinking to bridge the gap between abstract political philosophy and practical political science, making it relevant for anyone interested in how we think about politics.

From Plato to the present day, political theorists have used models of idealistic societies to think about politics. In this thought-provoking book, David Wiens argues that these models cannot provide the normative guidance many theorists have hoped for--they cannot reliably show us how things should be or where we should go. Yet Wiens shows how idealistic models can sharpen our understanding by helping us interpret the concepts we use to explain and evaluate real-world political behavior and institutions. By developing a novel framework for analyzing how political thinkers use these models, Wiens demonstrates both their limitations and their value to political inquiry, showing in the end how we can use idealistic thinking to integrate our explanatory aims with our normative aspirations. From the Best to the Rest thus offers a fresh perspective on long-standing debates about how idealistic thinking can help us understand real-world politics.