REGINA KREIDE - The silence of political liberalism (2016)
Deprived of its
normative core and disappointed in its hopes for universal justice,
contemporary liberalism is mute in the face of current conflicts and crises.
Regina Kreide seeks reasons for liberal theory's loss of relevance in today's
violent, chaotic and radically unequal world.
Europe is convulsed
by terrorist attacks and surrounded by theatres of war. Refugees are dying at
the external borders of the continent or being herded together in camps in
Turkey, Lebanon, Yemen, or – and this applies only to the very few – in
countries in Europe. The financial crisis seems harmless in comparison:
annoying but transient, like a cold.
The beautiful,
peaceful world in which we have arranged our lives so comfortably is showing
its repressed, violent side. Yet established political theory is silent –
perplexed, incredulous, and helpless – in the face of these problems. Is this
because the circumstances are beyond explanation? Or is there a problem with
political theory itself? What has happened to the discipline that claims to be
able to tell us about the legitimacy of political systems? To paraphrase Kant,
is it dreaming the sweet dream of perpetual peace? In the following, I develop
three theses in order to explain this silence. Before doing so, however, I will
offer a brief sketch of recent key developments in political theory.
The history of
political theory over the last three decades has been shaped in decisive ways
by variants of liberal theory. It is no exaggeration to say that liberal
theory, which draws in one way or another on classical predecessors, still sets
the tone. Here, central importance is accorded to the foundation of civil
liberties, whose function is to protect life, security and property. For
example, the seventeenth-century liberalism of John Locke is shaped by the idea
that human beings by nature find themselves in a condition of perfect freedom
in which they do not depend on the will of others.
Almost two centuries later, John Stuart Mill added
the condition that, if freedom is restricted, then the burden of proof lies
with those restricting, rather than those whose rights are being curtailed. Contemporary liberal thinkers such as Joel Feinberg,
Stanley Benn and John Rawls also affirm – notwithstanding all other
disagreements – a ‘basic liberal principle’: the freedom of all or, more
precisely, the negative freedom of all, to exist without interference by other
individuals or the state. This is the key normative premise of all liberal
theories. The protection of life, property and freedom of opinion (Mill) are
central; deviations from these fundamental principles, for
example state coercion (taxes, conscription), must be justified. A main
question for liberalism is thus whether and how it is possible to legitimize
coercive and freedom-curtailing rule... read more:
https://www.eurozine.com/the-silence-of-political-liberalism/
