Reasons for reason-giving: The obamacare debates

Robert E. Goodin*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    3 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The demanding and giving of reasons for their actions are core business for public policy makers in a democracy. But there are many different reasons for asking why questions, and correspondingly many different responses that might count as adequate answers. Seven different reasons for reason-giving are here distinguished and categorized along two dimensions: political moralism versus political realism, and high versus low politics. All of those were in play in the enactment and adjudication of the Affordable Care Act. The attempts at repealing it were characterized by low-politics and political-realist modes of reason-giving more exclusively.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)991-1012
    Number of pages22
    JournalJournal of Health Politics, Policy and Law
    Volume43
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2018

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Reasons for reason-giving: The obamacare debates'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this