Description:"This thoughtfully written book addresses what is perhaps the central political issue of our time: whether liberal societies can hold together as self-sustaining communities, or whether liberal ideology sows the seeds of its own destruction in promoting an asocial individualism."--Foreign Affairs "Steven Kautz's Liberalism and Community is a direct response to those, like Michael Sandel, who argue that persons are constituted by their obligations to communities, rather than that communities are constituted by the participation of rights-bearing persons. . . . Mr. Kautz's [book] provide[s] welcome antidotes to the sentimental gushings about 'community' that one hears so often these days."--Tom G. Palmer, Wall Street Journal "In presenting this spirited commentary, Kautz displays admirable erudition and sure-footedness in handling the texts, both historical and contemporary. He makes subtle distinctions and thoughtful observations. He also practices the toleration he preaches, treating those he criticizes with generosity and a lack of malice."--Review of Politics