Research Paper

Liberalism
First published Thu Nov 28, 1996; substantive revision Mon Sep 10, 2007
As soon as one examines it, ‘liberalism’ fractures into a variety of types and competing visions. In this entry we focus on debates within the liberal tradition. We begin by (1) examining different interpretations of liberalism 's core commitment — liberty. We then consider (2) the longstanding debate between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ liberalism. In section (3) we turn to the more recent controversy about whether liberalism is a ‘comprehensive’ or a ‘political’ doctrine. We close in (4) by considering disagreements as to ‘the reach’ of liberalism — does it apply to all humankind, and must all political communities be liberal? • 1. The Debate About Liberty o 1.1 The Presumption in Favor of Liberty o 1.2 Negative Liberty o 1.3 Positive Liberty o 1.4 Republican Liberty • 2. The Debate Between the ‘Old’ and the ‘New’ o 2.1 Classical Liberalism o 2.2 The ‘New Liberalism’ o 2.3 Liberal Theories of Social Justice • 3. The Debate About the Comprehensiveness of Liberalism o 3.1 Political Liberalism o 3.2 Liberal Ethics o 3.3 Liberal Theories of Value o 3.4 The Metaphysics of Liberalism • 4. The Debate About The Reach of Liberalism o 4.1 Is Liberalism Justified in All Political Communities? o 4.2 Is Liberalism a Cosmopolitan or a State-centered Theory? o 4.3 Liberal Interaction with Non-Liberal Groups: International o 4.4 Liberal Interaction with Non-Liberal Groups: Domestic • 5. Conclusion • Bibliography • Other Internet Resources • Related Entries
[pic]
1. The Debate About Liberty
1.1 The Presumption in Favor of Liberty
‘By definition’, Maurice Cranston rightly points out, ‘a liberal is a man who believes in liberty’ (1967: 459). In two different ways, liberals accord liberty primacy as a political

Bibliography: • Beitz, Charles (1997). Political Theory and International Relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press. • Benn, Stanley I. (1988). A Theory of Freedom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Bentham, Jeremy (1952 [1795]). Manual of Political Economy in Jeremy Bentham 's Economic Writings W. Stark, ed. London: Allen and Unwin. • Bentham, Jeremy (1970 [1823]). Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, J. H. Burns and H. L. A. hart, eds. London: Athlone Press. • Berlin, Isaiah (1969). ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ in his Four Essays on Liberty. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 118-72. • Beveridge, William (1944). Full Employment in a Free Society. London: Allen and Unwin. • Bird, Colin (1999). The Myth of Liberal Individualism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Bosanquet, Bernard (2001 [1923]). Philosophical Theory of the State in Philosophical Theory of the State and Related Essays, Gerald F. Gaus and William Sweet, eds. Indianapolis: St. Augustine Press. • Buchanan James M. and Gordon Tullock (1966). The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press. • Chapman, John W. (1977). ‘Toward a General Theory of Human Nature and Dynamics’ in NOMOS XVII: Human Nature in Politics, J. Roland Pennock and John W. Chapman, eds. New York: New York University Press: 292-319. • Christman, John and Joel Anderson, eds. (2005). Autonomy and Challenges to Liberalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Cranston, Maurice (1967). ‘Liberalism’ in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Paul Edwards, ed. New York: Macmillan and the Free Press: 458-461. • Dagger, Richard (1997). Civic Virtue: Rights, Citizenship and Republican Liberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Dewey, John (1929). Characters and Events, Joseph Ratner, ed., New York: Henry Holt. • Dworkin, Gerald (1988). The Theory and Practice of Autonomy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Dworkin, Ronald (2000). Sovereign Virtue. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. • Eberle, Christopher J. (2002). Religious Conviction in Liberal Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Ely, James W. Jr (1992). The Guardian of Every Other Right: A Constitutional History of Property Rights. New York: Oxford University Press. • Feinberg, Joel (1984). Harm to Others. Oxford: Clarendon Press. • Freeden, Michael (1978). The New Liberalism: An Ideology of Social Reform. Oxford: Clarendon Press. • Galston, William (1980). Justice and the Human Good. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. • Galston, William (2003). ‘Parents, Governments and Children: Authority Over Education in the Liberal Democratic State’ in NOMOS XLIV: Child, Family and The State, Stephen Macedo and Iris Marion Young, eds. New York: New York University Press: 211-233. • Gaus, Gerald F. (1983a). The Modern Liberal Theory of Man. New York: St. Martin 's Press. • Gaus, Gerald F. (1983b). ‘Public and Private Interests in Liberal Political Economy, Old and New’ in Public and Private in Social Life, S.I. Benn and G.F. Gaus, eds. New York: St. Martin 's Press: 183-221. • Gaus, Gerald F. (1994). ‘Property, Rights, and Freedom,’ 11 Social Philosophy and Policy: 209-40. • Gaus, Gerald F. (1996). Justificatory Liberalism: An Essay on Epistemology and Political Theory. New York: Oxford University Press. • Gaus, Gerald F. (2000). Political Concepts and Political Theories. Boulder, CO: Westview. • Gaus, Gerald F. (2003). ‘Backwards into the Future: Neorepublicanism as a Postsocialist Critique of Market Society’, 20 Social Philosophy & Policy: 59-92. • Gaus, Gerald F. (2004). ‘The Diversity of Comprehensive Liberalisms ’ in The Handbook of Political Theory, Gerald F. Gaus and Chandran Kukathas, eds. London: Sage: 100-114. • Gauthier, David (1986). Morals By Agreement. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Green, Thomas Hill (1986 [1895]). Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation and Other Essays, Paul Harris and John Morrow, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Greenawalt, Kent (1995). Private Consciences and Public Reasons. New York: Oxford University Press. • Gutmann, Amy (1985). ‘Communitarian Critics of Liberalism’, 14 Philosophy & Public Affairs: 308-22. • Hampton, Jean (1989) ‘Should Political Philosophy by Done without Metaphysics?’ 99 Ethics: 791-814. • Hayek, F.A. (1960). The Constitution of Liberty. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. • Hayek, F.A. (1976). The Mirage of Social Justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. • Hayek, F.A. (1978). ‘Liberalism’ in his New Studies in Philosophy, Politics, Economics and the History of Ideas. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. • Hobbes, Thomas (1948 [1651]). Leviathan, Michael Oakeshott, ed. Oxford: Blackwell. • Hobhouse, L. T. (1918). The Metaphysical Theory of the State. London: Allen and Unwin. • Hobson, J.A. (1922). The Economics of Unemployment. London: Allen and Unwin. • Kant, Immanuel, (1965 [1797]). The Metaphysical Elements of Justice, John Ladd, trans. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. • Kant, Immanuel, (1970 [1795]) ‘Perpetual Peace’ in Kant 's Political Writings, Hans Reiss, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Kavka, Gregory S. (1986). Hobbesian Moral and Political Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press. • Keynes, John Maynard (1972). ‘The End of Laissez-Faire’in his Essays in Persuasion. London: Macmillan. • Keynes, John Maynard (1973 [1936]). The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. London and Cambridge: Macmillan and Cambridge University Press. • Kukathas, Chandran (2003). The Liberal Archipelago. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Kymlicka, Will (1989). Liberalism, Community and Culture. Oxford: Clarendon Press. • Larmore, Charles (1996). The Morals of Modernity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Larmore, Charles (2001). ‘A Critique of Philip Pettit 's Republicanism’, 35 Nous-Supplement: 229-243. • Larmore, Charles (2004). ‘Liberal and Republican Conceptions qof Freedom’ in Republicanism: History, Theory, and Practice, D. Weinstock and C. Nadeau, eds. London: Frank Cass: 96-119. • Locke, John (1960 [1689]). The Second Treatise of Government in Two Treatises of Government, Peter Laslett, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 283-446. • Locke, John (1975 [1706]). An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Peter H. Nidditch, ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press. • Lomasky, Loren E. (1987). Persons, Rights, and the Moral Community. New York: Oxford University Press. • Lomasky, Loren E. (2007). ‘Liberalism Without Borders’ in Liberalism: Old and New, Ellen Frankel Paul, Fred D. Miller and Jeffrey Paul, eds. New York: Cambridge University Press: 206-233 • Machiavelli, Niccolo (1950 [1513]) • Mack, Eric and Gerald F. Gaus. (2004) ‘Classical Liberalism and Libertarianism: The Liberty Tradition’ in The Handbook of Political Theory, Gerald F. Gaus and Chandran Kukathas, eds. London: Sage: 115-130. • Margalit, Avishai, and Joseph Raz (1990). ‘National Self-Determination,‘ 87 Journal of Philosophy: 439-61. • Mill, John Stuart (1963). Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, J. M. Robson, ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. • Miller, David (2002). ‘Two Ways to Think about Justice’, 1 Politics, Philosophy and Economics: 5-28. • Mummery A. F. and J. A. Hobson (1956). The Physiology of Industry. New York: Kelly and Millman. • Nozick, Robert. (1974). Anarchy, State and Utopia. New York: Basic Books . • Nussbaum, Martha (2002). ‘Women and Law of Peoples’, 1 Politics, Philosophy and Economics: 283-306. • Paul, Ellen Frankel, Fred D. Miller and Jeffrey Paul, eds. (2007). Liberalism: Old and New. New York: Cambridge University Press. • Perry, Michael J. (1993). ‘Religious Morality and Political Choice: Further Thoughts— and Second Thoughts — on Love and Power’, San Diego Law Review, vol. 30 (Fall): 703-727. • Pettit, Philip (1996). ‘Freedom as Antipower’, 106 Ethics: 576-604. • Pettit, Philip (1997). Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government. Oxford: Clarendon Press. • Pogge, Thomas W. (1989). Realizing Rawls. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. • Pogge, Thomas W. (2002). World Poverty and Human Rights. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. • Popper, Karl (1945). The Open Society and its Enemies. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. • Rawls, John (1996). Political Liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press. • Rawls, John (1999a). Law of Peoples. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. • Rawls, John (1999b). A Theory of Justice, revised edition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. • Rawls, John (2001). Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, Erin Kelly, ed. New York: Columbia University Press. • Raz, Joseph (1986). The Morality of Freedom. Oxford: Clarendon Press. • Raz, Joseph (1990). ‘Facing Diversity: The Case of Epistemic Abstinence,’ 19 Philosophy & Public Affairs: 3-46. • Reiman, Jeffrey (1990). Justice and Modern Moral Philosophy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. • Ritchie, D.G. (1896). Principles of State Interference, 2nd, edn. London: Swan Sonnenschein. • Robbins, L. (1961). The Theory of Economic Policy in English Classical Political Economy. London: Macmillan. • Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1973 [1762]). The Social Contract and Discourses, G.D.H. Cole, trans. New York: Dutton. • Sandel, Michael. (1982) Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Scanlon, Thomas (1982) ‘Contractualism and Utilitarianism’ in Utilitarianism and Beyond, Amartya Sen and Bernard Williams, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 103-28. • Scanlon, T.M. (1998) What We Owe Each Other. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. • Spencer, William (1995 [1851]). Social Statics. New York: Robert Schalkenback Foundation. • Skinner, Quentin (1998). Liberty Before Liberalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Spector, Horacio (1992). Autonomy and Rights: The Moral Foundations of Liberalism. Oxford: Clarendon. • Steiner, Hillel (1994). An Essay on Rights. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. • Swaine, Lucas (2006). The Liberal Conscience. New York: Columbia University Press. • Tamir, Yael (1993). Liberal Nationalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. • Tawney, R. H. (1931). Equality. New York: Harcourt. Brace. • Taylor, Charles (1992). Multiculturalism and The Politics of Recognition. Princeton: Princeton University Press. • Viroli, Maurizio (2002). Republicanism, A. Shugaar, trans. New York: Hill and Wang. • von Humboldt, Wilhelm (1993 [1854]). The Limits of State Action. Indianapolis: Liberty Press. • Wall, Steven (1998). Liberalism, Perfectionism and Restraint. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.