Description
`The author has provided us with a masterful overview and critique of liberal theorizing of the past quarter-century. While dealing exhaustively and fairly with each of a variety of broadly liberal approaches, Gaus also presents a compelling argument for his own preferred "justificatory" approach. His analyses range across familiar territory - Berlin, Gauthier,
Baier, Habermas, social choice theory, Rawls, and so on - and are always
illuminating and, taken together, provide both the newcomer and the old-hand much to ponder′ - Fred D′Agostino, University of New England, Armidale
`[A]ll that man is and all that raises him above animals he owes to his reason′ - Ludwig von Mises
Contemporary Theories of Liberalism provides students with a comprehensive overview of the key tenets of liberalism developed through Hobbes, Locke, Kant and Rawls to present day theories and debates.
Central to recent debate has been the idea of public reason. The text introduces and explores seven dominant theories of public reason, namely, pluralism, Neo-Hobbesianism, pragmatism, deliberative democracy, political democracy, Rawlsian political liberalism and justificatory liberalism.
As a proponent of justificatory liberalism, Gaus presents an accessible and critical analysis of all contempoary liberal political theory and powerfully illustrates the distinct and importsant contribution of justificatory liberalism.
Contemporary Theories of Liberalism is essential reading for students and academics seeking a deeper understanding of liberal political theory today.
Table of Contents
Liberalism and Reason
Pluralistic Liberalism
Making Do without Public Reason?
Hobbesian-Inspired Liberalism
Public Reason out of Individual Reason
Collective Reason
Deeping the Social Roots of Public Reason
Deliberative Democracy
Public Reason and Political Consensus
Political Democracy
Public Reason through Aggregation
Rawls′s Political Liberalism
Public Reason as the Domain of the Political
Justificatory Liberalism and Adjudicative Democracy
Public Reason and Umpiring
