Of the three philosophical frameworks we have discussed in class (libertarianism, conservatism and liberalism), which one best captures the values that America ought to be premised on?

This essay asks you to formulate a coherent and persuasive view on American ideals. Probably, you will choose one of the three frameworks and defend it against the others. This is certainly the most straightforward way of working this essay. Arguably, however, America is an amalgamation of these views and that none of them captures the correct spirit of America. If you think so, you must present a unique view that melds various parts of the views together. (Warning: this is difficult to do in a consistent manner. Be careful that you don’t put together ideals that are inconsistent or lead to conflicting answers on important questions.)

In writing this essay, you will need to: (1) present a concise and coherent précis of the view you are defending, (2) offer persuasive reasons as to why a skeptical (but fair) reader should accept your views, (3) present the strongest objections to your view and your defence against them.

The essay is meant to showcase two separate skills – your ability to comprehend difficult material and your ability to go beyond it and produce new and interesting ideas based upon this material. Most likely, presenting your chosen framework will be mainly descriptive. Make sure that when you are setting it out, you present a clear and complete picture. However, I also want you to provide new ideas and analysis of your own. There are two opportunities for this – when you set out defences for why you chose the position you did and in defending it against the other views. If possible, come up with your own objections/responses.

Points to remember:

1]   This is not a research essay so do not use outside sources! You may bring in historical/contemporary examples but they should be relatively well known and (if possible) uncontroversial.

2]   Take seriously the Principle of Charity. When presenting objections to your view, I should be persuaded that these are real and significant problems that you are addressing.

There are two types of objections you could offer. First, you could attack one of your own points. (For example, if you were defending libertarianism, you could point out that it might seem a problem that libertarians don’t support welfare programs such as social security.) This type of objection focuses on weak points in your own position. Your response should either show that your view really can accommodate the problem raised, or show that the problem is not really a problem at all, or admit it is a problem but point out that the alternatives are even worse so that yours is the best of a bad lot.

Second, you could mount an objection by pointing out attractive elements of an opposing view that yours does not appear to have. Take what you feel is the strongest and most appealing features of the opposing view and show how either these can be accommodated within your favourite framework or why the features aren’t so appealing after all. All three of the views have supporters so it should not be difficult to find something of worth in any of the views (even if you personally don’t find the framework to be persuasive overall).

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