ABSTRACT
An important strand in the school of thought known as ‘political realism’ is a distancing from, if not a rejection of ‘political moralism,’ the application of moral standards to political phenomena. This initial formulation of realism’s opposition to moralism suggests several distinct theses. One is that moral thinking, as a social phenomenon, is causally subsidiary to political structure. Another is that moral convictions are mere rationalizations of preferences and interests. A third is that proper political thought takes the moral defects of humans as given. Another thesis yet would be that political standards are not ‘applied ethics,’ applications of moral principles applicable to individual behavior. I argue that none of these positions, even if they were correct, would raise any difficulty for the thesis that political arrangements are subject to moral standards of what is right or just.
