The Myth of Liberal Individualism - Hardcover

Bird, Colin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521641284 ISBN 13: 9780521641289

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1999

Synopsis

This book challenges us to look at liberal political ideas in a fresh way. Colin Bird examines the assumption, held both by liberals and by their strongest critics, that the values and ideals of the liberal political tradition cohere around a distinctively 'individualist' conception of the relation between individuals, society and the state. He concludes that the formula of 'liberal individualism' conceals fundamental conflicts between liberal views of these relations, conflicts that neither liberals nor their critics have adequately recognized. His interesting and provocative study develops a powerful criticism of the libertarian forms of 'liberal individualism' which have risen to prominence, and suggests that by taking this term for granted, theorists have exaggerated the unity and integrity of liberal political ideals and limited our perception of the issues they raise.

About this title

Review:

"Bird makes an important contribution to contemporary discourse on liberalism, not least because he adopts a unique, noncommunitarian critical perspective." Ethics

"...this trenchant and intelligent book will justly reward the reader." Perspectives on Political Science

Book Description:

This powerful and interesting study challenges the traditional view that the ideas associated with the liberal political tradition cohere around an 'individualist' conception of the relation between individuals, society and the state, and argues that this conception has actually clouded our understanding of the issues involved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0521641284
• ISBN 13: 9780521641289
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 236