This session addressed possibilities for conflict and compromise among the various political ideologies that drive biopolitical debate, including liberal, progressive, social conservative, religious conservative, libertarian, communitarian and other tendencies. Does political ideology stimulate political engagement? Does it undermine reasonable discussion? Which political ideologies do Tarrytown Meetings participants draw upon in their own approach to bioethics and biopolitics? Which competing ideologies do you we find most objectionable?
Participants in this session discussed possibilities for conflict and compromise among the various political ideologies that drive biopolitical debate. Some argue that professional bioethics is dominated by a liberal ideology that uncritically embraces analytic rationality and scientific progress. And bioethical debate has long involved various kinds of conservatism, including early religious objections to genetic engineering, certain strands of communitarianism, and many of the positions associated with the Bush administration's President's Council on Bioethics. Many advocates of transhumanism draw on libertarian ideology. Others have called for a "progressive" approach to bioethics. And some advocate "democratizing" the politics of biotechnology. How does political ideology relate to bioethics and activism? Does political ideology stimulate political engagement? Does it undermine reasonable discussion? Which political ideologies do you draw upon in your own approach to bioethics and biopolitics? Which competing ideologies do you find most objectionable and/or conducive to productive dialog?