The Idea of a Liberal Theory PDF
Preview The Idea of a Liberal Theory
The Idea of a Liberal Theory The Idea of a Liberal Theory A CRITIQUE AND RECONSTRUCTION David Johnston P R I N C E T O N U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S P R I N C E T O N , N E W J E R S E Y Copyright (cid:211) 1994 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Chichester, West Sussex All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Johnston, David, 1951- The idea of a liberal theory / David Johnston/ p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-691-03381-1 (alk. paper) 1. Liberalism. I. Title JC571.J57 1994 94-4089 320.5`1—dc20 This book has been composed in Bitstream Caledonia Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 For Margaret Chambliss Johnston and in memory of Stuart Marcus Davis Contents PrefaceandAcknowledgments ix INTRODUCTION 3 CHAPTERONE PoliticalTheoryandLiberalValues 11 CHAPTERTWO Rights-BasedLiberalism 40 CHAPTERTHREE PerfectionistLiberalism 68 CHAPTERFOUR PoliticalLiberalism 100 CHAPTERFIVE HumanistLiberalism 137 CONCLUSION 186 References 193 Index 201 Preface and Acknowledgments I HAVE WRITTEN this book to defend liberal values. To some readers it may appear that those values need no defense. Is not liberalism already trium- phantthroughoutthedevelopedworld?Perhapsitis,fornow.Yetthefallof despotismsthatplagued theworldfordecadeswithmomentousresultshas given rise to a new danger, the danger of complacency. As feminists, neo- Marxists, and others have demonstrated amply, liberal complacency is un- warranted. If liberalism appears triumphant today, responsibility for that triumphrestsasmuchwiththeweaknessoftheilliberalregimesofthepast asitdoesonthevitalityofliberalpolitical-economicsystems.Thosesystems arein need of reform.Thetaskforliberalpoliticaltheoriestodayistohelp guide these reforms. But ourliberal theorieswillbeable toundertake that task only if those theories themselves are revitalized. Itismy hope that by tracingmywaybacktothetheoreticalrootsofliberalisminthisstudy,Ican helptoachievetheneededrefashioningofliberalpoliticaltheory. · · · In preparing this study, I have incurred many debts. I first began to think about the subject of this book in a sustained way in the spring of 1988, at which time I was on leave with the generous financial assistance of the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities, whose support I acknowledge withgratitude. During that yearBruceJennings,withthefinancialassistanceoftheExxonEducational Foundation,hostedaseriesofmeetingsofdistinguishedmoralandpolitical thinkers at the Hastings Center, which helped me to focus my thoughts. I first attempted to put some of those thoughts into written form later that year, producing a paper on which I received valuable comments from JoshuaCohen,BillGalston,AmyGutmann, andJosephRaz. Ithen began to work on adraft of the book asawhole. Several students providedhelpfulcriticismsduringtheprocess,includingNathalieSylvestre, BrianWalker,SteveWall,andthemembersofmyseminarsonRawls’sthe- oryofjusticeinthespringsemestersof1992and1993.Ialsobenefitedfrom commentsonadraftofchapter3fromRobertAmdur,GlenStassen,andthe members of the Columbia Seminar on Studies in Political and Social Thought and the Princeton Colloquium on Political Philosophy. John Christman, Philip Green, Amy Gutmann, George Kateb, J. Donald Moon, Nancy L. Rosenblum, Alan Ryan, and Rogers Smith all read a draft of the bookandprovidedcommentsthathelpedmetoidentifymanyproblems,as xiv • PrefaceandAcknowledgments did a shrewd and well-informed anonymous reader. I also benefited from readingsbyseveral colleaguesatColumbia,includingJulianFranklin,Ray- mond Geuss, Mark Kesselman, and Ira Katznelson. Charles E. Lindblom andHenryShue readthepenultimatedraftandhelpedmetocorrectsome finalmistakes.Allthesepeoplehelpedmetoshapemythoughts,andforthat Iamextremelygrateful. Iwishto expressspecialthanks tofourpeople. DennisF. Thompsonhas beensupportivetomeovermanyyears,throughgoodtimesandbad.With- out his help, I would not have been able to write this book. I have also benefitedfromnumerousconversationswith,andthesupportof,CharlesE. Lindblomovertheyears.Manyofmythoughtsaboutliberalismandpolitical philosophy were shaped in part through our discussions and are stronger thanbeforeasaresult.QuentinSkinnerhasalsobeenunfailinglysupportive ofmyeffortstomakesenseofpoliticalphilosophy,ashasJulianFranklin. I would like also to take this occasion to express my gratitude to two peoplewhohavenodirectconnectionwiththisbookbutwhohelpedmeat crucialtimesinmycareer.SirIsaiahBerlin,asareaderofmydissertationat Oxford,gavemeadvicethatwasbothcriticalandsupportive.Hiswordshad aformativeinfluence onmythinkingandhavehelpedtoguidemethrough the maze I have been exploring ever since. The late Judith N. Shklar gave me invaluable and unstinting support at a more recent, dark and difficult periodofmycareer.Ihopethisandmyfutureworkwillbeworthyofher. Ann Wald of Princeton University Press helped guide me through the rewritingoflargepartsofthisbookandhasbeenagenerousandsupportive editor throughout the process. Finally, Wendy Johnston, Katie Johnston, andVictoriaJohnstonmadethesacrificesthatenabledmetowritethisbook, forwhichIamdeeplygrateful. NewYorkCity November1993
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