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Prophet of a Third Way: The Shape of Kuyper's Socio-Political Vision (Session I Abraham Kuyper and Reformed Social Teaching) (Critical Essay)

eBook details

Title: Prophet of a Third Way: The Shape of Kuyper's Socio-Political Vision (Session I Abraham Kuyper and Reformed Social Teaching) (Critical Essay)
Author : Journal of Markets & Morality
Release Date : January 22, 2002
Genre: Business & Personal Finance,Books,Religion & Spirituality,
Pages : * pages
Size : 315 KB

Description

A century after Abraham Kuyper's visit to the United States, the issue that dominated political discourse both in Northern Europe and in the United States was that of the so-called Third Way. This was reflected in a meeting that took place in Washington in the autumn of 1998 between Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, the serving governmental heads of the United Kingdom and the United States. It was a time of seemingly intractable crisis at the White House in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky affair, but the theme that pervaded the agenda of that meeting was that of a Third Way in politics, and it served to cement the Blair-Clinton relationship with bonds of solidarity. It even diverted the focus of media coverage of the United States president, which hitherto had been fixed on the unfolding scandal. Much debate ensured in the broadsheets as to what was meant by the term; was it a radical alternative to two opposing ideologies, one that bore no similarity to what it sought to replace? Or was it an amalgam of the best parts of each of them? Although Kuyper did not use the term, his sociopolitical vision was designed as a Third Way--an alternative to the ideologies of individualism, on the one hand, and collectivism, on the other. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it will attempt to interpret Kuyper's thought, particularly as this is expressed in his Stone Lectures of 1898, within the context of his times, to shed light on his intellectual and organizational motives. (1) This was not a straightforward task, as Kuyper was more prone to characterize intellectual ideas by using broad brush strokes than to subject them to detailed theoretical criticism. In part, this explains why a contextual approach to Kuyper's thought, rather than one that treats his ideas in historical and intellectual isolation, has been so slow in coming. The second objective of this paper has to do with Kuyper's legacy. Having dealt with his thought from a critical-historical perspective, an attempt will be made to highlight some of its virtues. The hope is that this will provide pointers to its relevance for today.