Liberals and Communitarians

In this revised and expanded edition of their established text, Stephen Mulhall and Adam Swift provide an up–to–date overview of the issues and new developments in the debate. Beginning with an account of John Rawls′s A Theory of Justice , the book goes on to provide clear presentation of the work of the main communitarians – Michael Sandel, Alisdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor and Michael Walzer. This is followed by a substantially rewritten and expanded assessment of Rawls′s more recent work, as that is presented in his new book, Political Liberalism. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which his position enables him to respond to the communitarian critique. The final part of the book examines the writings of three other liberal theorists whose work bears on these issues; the work of Ronald Dworkin is included here for the first time, together with that of Richard Rorty and Joseph Raz. This provides a framework for investigating the different ways in which liberal political thought can claim to be neutral between conceptions of the good. Clear and accessible in style, with a guiding agenda of themes and issues, this new edition will continue to provide an indispensable aid to students of contemporary political theory.

Preface to Second Edition. Preface to First Edition. Acknowledgements. Abbreviations. Introduction: Rawls′s Original Position. Part I: Communitarian Critiques: . Introduction. 1. Sandel: The Limits of Liberalism. 2. MacIntyre: Morality After Virtue. 3. Taylor: The Sources of the Liberal Self. 4. Walzer: Justice and Abstraction. Concluding Summary. Part II: Rawls′s Response . 5. Rawls′s Political Liberalism. 6. Political Liberalism and the Communitarian Critique. 7. Political Liberalism: Political or Comprehensive?. Part III: Liberalism, Politics and Neutrality . 8. Rorty: Liberalism Without Foundations. 9. Dworkin: Philosophical Foundations for State Neutrality. 10. Raz: The Politics of Perfection. Conclusion. Bibliography. Index.

Stephen Mulhall is Reader Philosophy at Essex University and a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He is the author of On Being in the World (1990). Adam Swift is Fellow and Tutor in Politics and Sociology at Balliol College, Oxford.