ABSTRACT
In this brief introduction, we set up our goals for the rest of the volume. We introduce and endorse Jeremy Waldron’s recent argument that “political political theory”—that is, a political theory focused on actually existing institutions and institutional arrangements—has been neglected in favor of a focus on values and virtues. We argue this approach is crucial for the development of a democratic theory that meets the desiderata set out for a “realist” approach to political theory. This introduction also provides an outline of the chapters in the volume, and uses the legal and political fates of the 13th and 14th amendments to illustrate the necessity of such an approach.
