I shall argue, in the course of this lecture, that the title I gave myself is a bad one, one that sets a bad example. "Liberalism," like "conservatism" and "socialism," is too loca
For most people of the West, the idea of a time and way of life after liberalism is as plausible as the idea of living on Mars. Yet liberalism is a bold political and social experi
Among the most prominent lines of argument in political theory in the past several years has been a sharp critique of "liberalism" as essentially incompatible with pre-liberal idea
Liberalism is more than one thing. On any close examination, it seems to fracture into a range of related but sometimes competing visions. In this entry we focus on debates within
This entry begins with a brief recounting of the views of some main figures in the liberal tradition: John Locke, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill. Other accounts of the liberal tradit
Liberal political philosophy explores the foundations of the principles most commonly associated with liberal politics: freedom, toleration, individual rights, constitutional democ
Mother and Teacher of all nations—such is the Catholic Church in the mind of her Founder, Jesus Christ; to hold the world in an embrace of love, that men, in every age, should find
With regard to civil authority, Leo XIII, boldly breaking through the confines imposed by Liberalism, fearlessly taught that government must not be thought a mere guardian of law a
In its several forms liberalism concerns the organisation and regulation of society through the power of the state, and is in general concerned to limit these in the interest of protecting, and perhaps promoting personal freedom and responsibility. There are different sources and forms of liberalism. In Western Europe one important point of origin was the idea of the Protestant Reformers that each person stands in a unique relationship to God unmediated by Church and that belief cannot be coerced or lack of it justly punished. Another source was in 19th century reactions to the growing economic and legal power of the State which was thought to impede people’s own powers of moral discovery and development. A third source prominent in 20th century American liberal thought is the concern to maintain political stability under conditions of social diversity and disagreement leading to the thought that the sate should be neutral as between different ideas of the good life, and so far as possible restrict itself to procedural matters upon which all parties can agree. Three major thinkers associated with these arguments are John Locke (1632-1704), John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), and John Rawls (1921-2002).