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An expert survey of liberal approaches and liberal responses to diverse topics and controversies in contemporary political thought and practice.
List of contents
Introduction Steven Wall; Part I. Historical Perspectives: 1. American liberalism from colonialism to the Civil War and beyond Mark E. Button; 2. Liberalism and the morality of commercial society Jeremy Jennings; 3. Liberalism: 1900-40 Alan Ryan; Part II. Normative Foundations: 4. Contractarianism and the problem of exclusion Philip Cook; 5. Public reason liberalism Gerald F. Gaus; 6. Autonomy and liberalism: a troubled marriage? John Christman; 7. Liberalism, neutrality, and democracy Steven Wall; Part III. Topics and Concepts: 8. Contemporary liberalism and toleration Andrew J. Cohen; 9. Liberalism and equality Richard Arneson; 10. Disagreement and the justification of democracy Thomas Christiano; 11. Liberalism and economic liberty Jeppe von Platz and John Tomasi; 12. Liberalism and religion Nicholas Wolterstorff; 13. Liberalism and multiculturalism Daniel Weinstock; 14. Liberalism and nationalism Paul Kelly; Part IV. Challenges: 15. Feminist critiques of liberalism Linda M. G. Zerilli; 16. The republican critique of liberalism Frank Lovett; 17. The conservative critique of liberalism John Skorupski.
About the author
Steven Wall is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona. He has published widely on topics in contemporary political philosophy. He is the author of Liberalism, Perfectionism and Restraint (1998), editor (with George Klosko) of Perfectionism and Neutrality: Essays in Liberal Theory (2003) and (with David Sobel) of Reasons for Action (2009).
Summary
Liberalism emerged as a tradition of political thought in Europe during the Enlightenment and extended throughout the continent and to America into the twentieth century. This volume provides an expert survey of liberal approaches and responses to a range of important topics including freedom, equality, toleration, religion, and nationalism.
