Civic Liberalism and the 'Dialogical Model' of Judicial Review

In this paper I aim to help lessen the strangle-hold the principle-oriented approach to justice has on political theorists. The appropriate metric for measuring the justice of a system of social cooperation, I argue, is one that focuses on the exercise of the virtues of fair social cooperation. I defend a virtue-oriented theory of justice called "civic liberalism". Civic liberalism emphasizes the moral and pragmatic dimensions of the virtues of toleration, civility and fairness. After outlining the deficiencies of the principle-oriented approach to justice, I develop the framework for a theory of justice that takes seriously our liberal and democratic commitments. Such a framework resolves the "Madisonian Dilemma" and prescribes that we strive for a middle ground between legislative and judicial supremacy. More specifically, I argue that a "dialogical model" of judicial review is such a middle ground and that it enhances the exercise of the virtues of fair social cooperation