Table Of ContentThe Idea of a Liberal Theory
The Idea of a Liberal Theory
A CRITIQUE AND RECONSTRUCTION
David Johnston
P R I N C E T O N U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S
P R I N C E T O N , N E W J E R S E Y
Copyright (cid:211) 1994 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street,
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
Chichester, West Sussex
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Johnston, David, 1951-
The idea of a liberal theory / David Johnston/
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-691-03381-1 (alk. paper)
1. Liberalism. I. Title
JC571.J57 1994 94-4089
320.5`1—dc20
This book has been composed in Bitstream Caledonia
Princeton University Press books are printed on
acid-free paper and meet the guidelines
for permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council on Library Resources
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
For Margaret Chambliss Johnston
and in memory of Stuart Marcus Davis
Contents
PrefaceandAcknowledgments ix
INTRODUCTION 3
CHAPTERONE
PoliticalTheoryandLiberalValues 11
CHAPTERTWO
Rights-BasedLiberalism 40
CHAPTERTHREE
PerfectionistLiberalism 68
CHAPTERFOUR
PoliticalLiberalism 100
CHAPTERFIVE
HumanistLiberalism 137
CONCLUSION 186
References 193
Index 201
Preface and Acknowledgments
I HAVE WRITTEN this book to defend liberal values. To some readers it may
appear that those values need no defense. Is not liberalism already trium-
phantthroughoutthedevelopedworld?Perhapsitis,fornow.Yetthefallof
despotismsthatplagued theworldfordecadeswithmomentousresultshas
given rise to a new danger, the danger of complacency. As feminists, neo-
Marxists, and others have demonstrated amply, liberal complacency is un-
warranted. If liberalism appears triumphant today, responsibility for that
triumphrestsasmuchwiththeweaknessoftheilliberalregimesofthepast
asitdoesonthevitalityofliberalpolitical-economicsystems.Thosesystems
arein need of reform.Thetaskforliberalpoliticaltheoriestodayistohelp
guide these reforms. But ourliberal theorieswillbeable toundertake that
task only if those theories themselves are revitalized. Itismy hope that by
tracingmywaybacktothetheoreticalrootsofliberalisminthisstudy,Ican
helptoachievetheneededrefashioningofliberalpoliticaltheory.
· · ·
In preparing this study, I have incurred many debts. I first began to think
about the subject of this book in a sustained way in the spring of 1988, at
which time I was on leave with the generous financial assistance of the
American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for
the Humanities, whose support I acknowledge withgratitude. During that
yearBruceJennings,withthefinancialassistanceoftheExxonEducational
Foundation,hostedaseriesofmeetingsofdistinguishedmoralandpolitical
thinkers at the Hastings Center, which helped me to focus my thoughts. I
first attempted to put some of those thoughts into written form later that
year, producing a paper on which I received valuable comments from
JoshuaCohen,BillGalston,AmyGutmann, andJosephRaz.
Ithen began to work on adraft of the book asawhole. Several students
providedhelpfulcriticismsduringtheprocess,includingNathalieSylvestre,
BrianWalker,SteveWall,andthemembersofmyseminarsonRawls’sthe-
oryofjusticeinthespringsemestersof1992and1993.Ialsobenefitedfrom
commentsonadraftofchapter3fromRobertAmdur,GlenStassen,andthe
members of the Columbia Seminar on Studies in Political and Social
Thought and the Princeton Colloquium on Political Philosophy. John
Christman, Philip Green, Amy Gutmann, George Kateb, J. Donald Moon,
Nancy L. Rosenblum, Alan Ryan, and Rogers Smith all read a draft of the
bookandprovidedcommentsthathelpedmetoidentifymanyproblems,as
xiv • PrefaceandAcknowledgments
did a shrewd and well-informed anonymous reader. I also benefited from
readingsbyseveral colleaguesatColumbia,includingJulianFranklin,Ray-
mond Geuss, Mark Kesselman, and Ira Katznelson. Charles E. Lindblom
andHenryShue readthepenultimatedraftandhelpedmetocorrectsome
finalmistakes.Allthesepeoplehelpedmetoshapemythoughts,andforthat
Iamextremelygrateful.
Iwishto expressspecialthanks tofourpeople. DennisF. Thompsonhas
beensupportivetomeovermanyyears,throughgoodtimesandbad.With-
out his help, I would not have been able to write this book. I have also
benefitedfromnumerousconversationswith,andthesupportof,CharlesE.
Lindblomovertheyears.Manyofmythoughtsaboutliberalismandpolitical
philosophy were shaped in part through our discussions and are stronger
thanbeforeasaresult.QuentinSkinnerhasalsobeenunfailinglysupportive
ofmyeffortstomakesenseofpoliticalphilosophy,ashasJulianFranklin.
I would like also to take this occasion to express my gratitude to two
peoplewhohavenodirectconnectionwiththisbookbutwhohelpedmeat
crucialtimesinmycareer.SirIsaiahBerlin,asareaderofmydissertationat
Oxford,gavemeadvicethatwasbothcriticalandsupportive.Hiswordshad
aformativeinfluence onmythinkingandhavehelpedtoguidemethrough
the maze I have been exploring ever since. The late Judith N. Shklar gave
me invaluable and unstinting support at a more recent, dark and difficult
periodofmycareer.Ihopethisandmyfutureworkwillbeworthyofher.
Ann Wald of Princeton University Press helped guide me through the
rewritingoflargepartsofthisbookandhasbeenagenerousandsupportive
editor throughout the process. Finally, Wendy Johnston, Katie Johnston,
andVictoriaJohnstonmadethesacrificesthatenabledmetowritethisbook,
forwhichIamdeeplygrateful.
NewYorkCity
November1993
Description:Liberalism, the founding philosophy of many constitutional democracies, has been criticized in recent years from both the left and the right for placing too much faith in individual rights and distributive justice. In this book, David Johnston argues for a reinterpretation of liberal principles he c
