UACES Workshop

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Values and the European Union:
Liberal Neutrality, Perfectionism, and Supranationalism

Organiser: Lynn Dobson, University of Edinburgh and Myrto Tsakatika, Athens University of Economics

Date: 19-20 June 2007

Venue: Edinburgh, UK

Political support of substantive values may exacerbate tensions among citizens. Generally, do we have any right to impose our values, or our interpretation of common values, on others? And are we under any obligation to accept the imposition of others’ values, or their assertions as to the commonality of particular values?

The EU has become an authoritative allocator of values and so has, arguably, value choices to make. But since both sociological and value pluralism appear to be part and parcel of the European polity, such choices may be more difficult to defend than those made in the context of the nation-state. Political philosophy has much to offer here. The lengthy debate between perfectionists and anti-perfectionists examines political institutions’ interventions in the sphere of values. Perfectionism insists the polity ought to promote ‘the good’ – though perfectionists will differ in what they think that good consists in, or in what it implies politically – while liberal neutrality argues that political institutions must remain neutral between different ‘conceptions of the good’. Debates on multiculturalism explore the boundaries and intersections of individual, community, and political norms.

Informed by these bodies of theoretical work, our workshop aims to offer reasoned argument to questions such as: to what extent should the EU support particular values in its constitutional, institutional, or policy-making activities? Concretely, if substantive values ought to be embodied in the Constitution, which, and why? Are there areas – such as religion –whose promotion ought to be abstained from? In policy-making, should the EU institutions favour (to take but two examples) any one ‘social model’ or ‘variety of capitalism’?

In exploring these and related themes the workshop will draw both on political theorists working in relevant areas of theory, and on scholars of the EU, from a variety of disciplines, whose research addresses the matter of values. Proposals are welcome on any aspect of constitutional values, or values in public policy choice, within the EU; and we also welcome proposals advancing the theoretical debate with respect to non-national frameworks of rule-making.

Contact: Lynn Dobson (l.dobson[a]ed.ac.uk)