This book investigates the unresolved issue of democratic legitimacy in contexts of pervasive disagreement and contributes to this debate by defending a relational version of political liberalism that rests on the ideal of co-authorship. According to this proposal, democratic legitimacy depends upon establishing appropriate interactions among citizens who ought to ascribe to one another the status of putative practical and epistemic authorities. To support this relational reading of political liberalism, the book proposes a revised account of the civic virtue of reasonableness along with an investigation of the epistemic-specific dimension of political equality. By engaging with political epistemology and social theory, this book explores ways to address inherent tensions within the liberal paradigm, using the following strategies of addressing these tensions: first, it defends a twofold model of legitimacy that distinguishes the goals, methodologies, and justificatory tasks of both ideal and nonideal phases of the two-level justificatory framework; second, it contends that democratic legitimacy requires an engaged and contextual critical appraisal of the injustices that characterize our daily social lives, illustrating how structural forms of injustice represent a profound betrayal of the liberal ideal of democratic legitimacy.

In recent years the concepts of individual autonomy and political liberalism have been the subjects of intense debate, but these discussions have occurred largely within separate academic disciplines. Autonomy and the Challenges to Liberalism contains essays devoted to foundational questions regarding both the notion of the autonomous self and the nature and justification of liberalism. Written by leading figures in moral, legal and political theory, the volume covers inter alia the following topics: the nature of the self and its relation to autonomy, the social dimensions of autonomy and the political dynamics of respect and recognition, and the concept of autonomy underlying the principles of liberalism.

The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the unrest in the US following the unlawful death of George Floyd, and other sources of social unrest and insecurity, have brought to a head something that has been brewing in Western societies since the Great Recession of 2008: the disillusionment with liberal democracy as it evolved after World War II. Liberal political systems were characterized by a working compromise between capital and labor, between liberalism and socialism. This book analyzes how, and to what extent, the rise of populism and “identitarian” political movements, as well as the acceptance of world leaders who embody an authoritarian style of government, has undermined this compromise. Written by scholars from various disciplines, all of which share the Christian faith, it offers a snapshot of an intellectual debate among Christians who are deeply concerned about the world they live in, and who share their constructive proposals for a way forward after “liberalism as we know it.” The contributors address topics such as Christian alternatives to liberalism and populism, challenges to post-liberalism, trans-liberalism, and relational anthropology. Accordingly, the book will appeal to scholars who wish to reflect on the order of our society, and to anyone who shares the view that it is high time to rethink liberalism.

Property law should expand opportunities for individual and collective self-determination and restrict options of interpersonal domination.

Questions about the relevance and value of various liberal concepts are at the heart of important debates among feminist philosophers and social theorists. Although many feminists invoke concepts such as rights, equality, autonomy, and freedom in arguments for liberation, some attempt to avoid them, noting that they can also reinforce and perpetuate oppressive social structures. In Challenging Liberalism Schwartzman explores the reasons why concepts such as rights and equality can sometimes reinforce oppression. She argues that certain forms of abstraction and individualism are central to liberal methodology and that these give rise to a number of problems. Drawing on the work of feminist moral, political, and legal theorists, she constructs an approach that employs these concepts, while viewing them from within a critique of social relations of power.

At the heart of relational theory lies the idea that the human self is fundamentally constituted in terms of its relations to others. For relational theorists, the self not only lives in relationship with and to others, but also owes its very existence to such relationships. In this groundbreaking collection, leading relational theorists explore core moral and metaphysical concepts, while health law and policy scholars respond by analyzing how such considerations might apply to more practical areas of concern. Innovative and self-reflexive, Being Relational brings a powerful theoretical framework to health law and policy studies. In so doing, it makes a bold contribution to scholarship and will appeal to a broad range of thinkers, especially those with an interest in social justice, and who seek to understand the complex ways in which power is created and sustained relationally.

Essays on new liberalism demonstrate that liberalism can accommodate community, rights and liberty.