Paper's abstract

Catherine Audard, Public ethic and democraty
In this paper, the issues raised by a public ethic specific to a constitutional democracy are examined. Even if the separation between public and private is essential to the protection of individual liberty, this distinction has to be compatible with the jurisdiction of private moral convictions in the political field. The autonomy of politics makes in fact the bed of totalitarianism. However it is not either possible to resign to the "tyranny of preferences" in the public field. A close scrutiny of the concept of public reason in John Rawls will show how some criticisms concerning individualism may be overcome and how the public forum and the civil society may play a mediating role between the individual and the citizen that Rousseau so much insisted upon opposing.

Key Words : ethic, public, democraty, Rawls, reason, individual freedom
t. 41, 1997 : p. 65-81

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