Liberalism As Ideology : Essays in Honour of Michael Freeden

Liberalism is the dominant ideology of our time, yet its character remains the subject of intense scholarly and political controversy. Debates about the liberal political tradition - about its history, its central philosophical commitments, its implications for political practice - lie at the very heart of the discipline of political theory. Many outstanding political theorists have contributed to the growing sophistication of these debates in recent years, but the original voice of Michael Freeden deserves particular attention. In the course of a body of work that spans over thirty years, Freeden's iconoclastic contributions have posed important challenges to the dominant understandings of liberal ideology, history, and theory. Such work has sought to redefine the very essence of what it is to be a liberal. This book brings together an international group of historians, philosophers, and political scientists to evaluate the impact of Freeden's work and to reassess its central claims. Cover Contents Acknowledgements List of Contributors Preface: Return of the Native Introduction Part I: Liberal Languages 1. A Cautious Embrace: Reflections on (Left) Liberalism and Utopia 2. Socialism and the New Liberalism 3. Liberalisms in India: A Sketch 4. Liberalism and American Stories of Peoplehood 5. The Liberal Dilemma: The Economic and the Social, and the Need for a European Contextualization of a Concept with Universal Pretensions 6. The Problem of Political Parties in Western Liberalism, 1868–1968 Part II: Ideologies and Political Theory 7. Liberalism and Analytical Political Philosophy 8. Political Ideology and Political Theory: Reflections on an Awkward Partnership 9. Ideology, Political Philosophy, and the Interpretive Enterprise: A View from the Other Side 10. Civil Society and the Reconstruction of the Public Sphere: Ideologies between Theory and Politics 11. In Defence of Political Understanding? 12. Getting ‘Real’ About Political Ideas: Conceptual Morphology and the Realist Critique of Anglo-American Political Philosophy 13. The Professional Responsibilities of the Political Theorist Michael Freeden: A Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z Liberalism is the dominant ideology of our time, yet its character remains the subject of intense scholarly and political controversy. Inspired by the work of Michael Freeden, this book brings together an internationally-respected cast of scholars to debate liberalism and to redefine the very essence of what it is to be a liberal. Liberalism is the dominant ideology of our time, yet its character remains the subject of intense scholarly and political controversy. Inspired by the work of Michael Freeden, this text brings together an internationally-respected cast of scholars to debate liberalism and to redefine the very essence of what it is to be a liberal