Classical Liberalism - Unvanquished Ideal

Description

Political Philosophy is widely regarded as having been revived by the publication in 1971 of John Rawls' Theory of Justice . That work defended welfare-state liberalism, at that time the prevailing orthodoxy. A profound challenge was put to this orthodoxy by the publication in 1974 of Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia . In arguing minimal government to be morally superior to all rivals, Nozick helped reawaken interest in classical liberal ideas. Ever since, the ideal of minimal government has been under assault from three principal sets of critics. First, egalitarian welfare Liberals find intolerable the level of inequality it allows. Second, Communitarians claim it destroys community. Third, Conservatives allege it undermines the basis for the patriotic allegiance on which they claim states rely for legitimacy and stability. Classical Liberalism defends minimum government against these charges, arguing it best advances human well-being. Cover Contents Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 2 Classical Liberalism 2.1 The Fundamental Problem of Political Philosophy 2.2 The Classical Liberal Solution: The System of Natural Liberty 2.3 Why Liberty Implies Property 2.4 The Economic Case for Liberty 2.5 The Non-Economic Case for Liberty 2.6 The Starving Man in the Liberal Polity 3 Modern Liberalism 3.1 Modern versus Classical Liberalism 3.2 Justice as Fairness, Natural Endowment and Desert 3.3 Impartiality, Inequalities of Sacrifice, and Legitimacy 3.4 Equal Worth, Equal Treatment and Equality of Resources 3.5 Radical Egalitarianism and the Formal Principle of Justice 3.6 Well-Being, Equality and the Politics of the Left 3.7 The Modern Feminist Critique of Classical Liberalism 4 Communitarianism 4.1 The Communitarian Case against the Liberal Polity 4.2 Community and the Liberal Polity 4.3 The Liberal Polity, Individualism and the Good of Community 4.4 The Liberal Polity, Individualism and the Virtues 4.5 The Liberal Polity and Rational Morality 5 Conservatism 5.1 Varieties of Modern Conservatism 5.2 Allegiance, Patriotism and Nationhood 5.3 Post-Modern Liberal Conservatism 5.4 Radical Value Pluralism 5.5 Personal Autonomy and Well-Being in Modern Pluralistic Society 5.6 The Conditions of Personal Autonomy 5.7 Human Well-Being and Illiberal Society 6 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Name Index Subject Index