For B. A. B., who continually asked for this to be written. ‘Liberalism’ was concerned [with what] I have called the menace of ‘sovereign’ authority and with constitutional devices to reduce it. If it had any theoretical understanding of a state it was that of an association in terms of assured ‘natural rights’ recognized asContinue reading “The Idea of Liberalism”
Tag Archives: individualism
Thinking Through Atomization
Two moral and political philosophers, Charles Taylor and Alasdair MacIntyre, have provided profound reflections on the nature of contemporary moral life, and—though their methods and projects differ—they come to intriguingly similar conclusions about the ills of modern ethics. The most notable, though described in different ways, is that of “individualism.” We might briefly understand thisContinue reading “Thinking Through Atomization”
A Note on the ‘Individual’
Our age is, by and large, one that we might describe as individualistic. What precisely is meant by individualism is not always clear, though I believe there are some common tendencies in the way that this word is used today. This notion was perhaps best captured by J. S. Mill in his seminal On Liberty,Continue reading “A Note on the ‘Individual’”
Hoping for Clarity 