3. Two Rival Frameworks

This chapter delves into the rivalry between political constructivism and realism, focusing on the justification of normative political principles. It explores how political constructivism aims to achieve protagorean objectivity, where principles are dependent on us yet fully objective as values. The text examines the Euthyphro dilemma, which poses a challenge to constructivism by questioning whether principles are authoritative because we approve them or because they are correct independently of our approval. The chapter introduces two rival frameworks for structuring the deliberation process: the procedural approach, associated with John Rawls and Onora O'Neill, and the constitutive approach, which includes practice-based and problem-based constructivism. Each framework is analyzed for its ability to address the arbitrary charge associated with the Euthyphro dilemma. The text also discusses the grounding charge, which questions whether constructed political principles are fundamental. The chapter concludes by arguing that both procedural and constitutive interpretations of constructivism successfully address the arbitrary charge, setting the stage for further exploration of the regress or circularity challenges in the next chapter.