Indirect Instrumentalism

Abstract

Abstract Instrumentalism claims that political legitimacy should be distributed in such a way that justice is promoted best. Building on a distinction made by consequentialists in moral philosophy, this chapter argues that instrumentalists should distinguish two levels of normative thinking about legitimacy, the critical (or foundational) and the applied (or practical) level. The crucial insight is that the content of the moral and political principles on the critical level can diverge from the content of the practical standards that should guide us in moral and political life. An indirect instrumentalism which acknowledges this distinction has significant advantages over structurally simpler forms of instrumentalism that do not; in particular, such an instrumentalism can answer various counter-examples that have been brought against the position. The chapter also answers various objections against indirect instrumentalism, for example, that it is impracticable or repugnant.