Living Ethically Acting Politically

How can we conceive of freedom and responsibility when our power is limited and we are subject to the forces of society? The author of this text asks what it means to live responsibly amid historical harm and wrongdoing, in the wake of slavery and genocide, or in the face of severe resource asymmetries. By connecting resistance to evil with reflections on the nature of power and political action, Orlie seeks to reveal the daily ways people commonly exercise power, inflict harm and show themselves capable of actions which transform both selves and the world. Viewed in this context, truly ethical political action may appear miraculous but could happen at any time. Orlie considers what it means to live freely when advantages are distributed disproportionately according to race, gender, class, culture and religion. What do freedom and responsibility entail when, for example, creating a home for oneself inplies social and economic commitments which render others homeless? To address these questions, Orlie links diverse intellectual concerns and constituencies in the social sciences and humanities, offering interpretations of Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault and Thomas Hobbes. She compares their thinking to that of the 17th-century Quakers who found political possibilities in the powers they called "spirit" in the world and in themselves.