Political theory is not a purely theoretical enterprise; it is intended to bepractical and action-guiding. To perform this role, the requirements ofpolitical theory must be possible, and the standard of possibility it employsmust be appropriate to the political domain. Because human beings vary in theircapacity for morality and justice, a reasonably just society, as Rawlsunderstands it, must not be expected. Despite his concerns to the contrary, thepossibility of a just polity is not needed to ward off resignation and cynicism.There is a principled path between a politics of complacency that thwartsfeasible progress and a politics of utopian aspiration that ends by inflictingharm in the name of doing good.
