Liberalism and Its Critics

by Michael J. Sandel

Much contemporary political philosophy has been a debate between utilitarianism on the one hand and Kantian, or rights-based ethic has recently faced a growing challenge from a different direction, from a view that argues for a deeper understanding of citizenship and community than the liberal ethic allows. The writings collected in this volume present leading statements of rights-based liberalism and of the communitarian, or civic republican alternatives to that position. The principle of selection has been to shift the focus from the familiar debate between utilitarians and Kantian liberals in order to consider a more powerful challenge ot the rights-based ethic, a challenge indebted, broadly speaking, to Aristotle, Hegel, and the civic republican tradition. Contributors include Isaiah Berlin, John Rawls, Alasdair MacIntyre,

Genres: Philosophy, Politics, Nonfiction, Essays

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 1984

About the author

Michael J. Sandel is an American political philosopher who lives in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1980. He is best known for the Harvard course 'Justice', which is available to view online, and for his critique of John Rawls' A Theory of Justice in his first book, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (1982). He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002.

Reviews

[Harald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Da jeg først så denne tittelen på pensumlisten, fryktet jeg at innholdet i kritikk-delen først og fremst skulle bestå av tekster av professor-typer som okker seg over NYLIBERALISMEN (uææ) som roten til alt ondt (Arne Johan Vetlesen-style). Heldigvis viste denne boken seg å være betraktelig mer intelligent. Problemet er at jeg nå må lese Hegel. Og Alasdair MacIntyre. Og Michael Oakeshott.

[valiantdust · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of essays in two parts, one for each side of the liberalism vs. communitarian debate in political philosophy and adjacent disciplines. It's hard to critique the selections given that Sandel, the editor and author of the introduction, was one of the major figures in this debate and likely knows more than 99.9% people on the planet about this debate, but some selections seemed oddly placed given their peripheral treatment of the issues at hand. The most salient of those issues, discussed more directly in selections by Rawls, Sandel, Taylor, and Berger, is the nature of the self in political philosophy. All told, it's a definite must-read for anyone interested in this debate but also for anyone who is serious about understanding the not-so-obvious foundations of contemporary social justice issues that pertain to identity politics, which includes the relationship between individual and culture, individualism vs collectivism, intercultural interaction, cross cultural critique.

[Connor Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of different arguments for and against Liberalism, but not really that approachable to someone like me with limited knowledge of the subject

[Kolbe Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandel: cool, Walzer: cool, Rawls: cool, Berlin: cool; Charles Taylor: sucks ass

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a relatively accessible text, and it's easy to read in segments pertaining to different philosophers.