Embracing Political Conflict: An Examination of the Agonistic Character of Politics and Its Relationship to Public Administration

This article examines the nature of moral conflicts, the role of politics in mediating moral conflicts at a societal level, and the implications of this role for public administration. The article argues that the political practices of a community can help it deal with conflicts regarding different conceptions of the good in a manner that minimizes force and violence by providing an opportunity for hearing the other side on the issues that divide it. It presents an agonistic view that sees politics as an ongoing contest among competing conceptions of the good rather than as a cooperative search for truth. This agonistic understanding of politics suggests that Americans should pay special attention to their constitutional traditions because they encourage the resolution of conflicts through political practices of adversarial argument and make it impossible for public administrators to evade their moral responsibility to participate in these practices.