According to the neutrality thesis, in designing state policies governments should not allow themselves to be informed by any particular conceptions of the good life. This work contributes to the debate about this thesis in two ways. It examines the limits of acceptable state perfectionism with reference to particular concerns such as transgenic animals, the promotion of the arts, and the integration of mentally handicapped people in the community. It also evaluates the argument that the government has a special task to produce or maintain intrinsically collective aspects of the good life. The author is affiliated with the University of Amsterdam. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
According to the neutrality thesis, in designing state policies governments should not allow themselves to be informed by any particular conceptions of the good life. The aim of this book is to contribute to the debate about this thesis in two specific ways. Firstly, the limits of acceptable state perfectionism are examined, not on a general level but by reference to some particular concerns of government policy; transgenic animals, future generations, the promotion of the arts, minority cultures, the allocation of scarce health care resources, the integration of mentally handicapped people into the community, and the expression of national identities. Secondly, the book as a whole evaluates the argument that the government has a special task to produce or to maintain intrinsically collective aspects of the good life, because these are to be seen as public goods.
