Two Faces of Liberalism

Author: (British) John Gray / Gu Ai bin / Li Rui hua
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The author, John Gray, is a renowned British political scientist who served as a professor of politics at the University of Oxford and is currently a professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His works, "Liberalism" published in the 1980s and "Post-Liberalism" published in the 1990s, are considered classic readings on liberalism. The 2000 publication, "Liberalism and Its Discontents," can be seen as a synthesis of the two earlier books and also as a result of an in-depth analysis of liberalism. Its sharp critique of orthodox liberalism responds to the pluralistic trends of the contemporary world and reflects a constructive inquiry into fundamental ways of life and political systems that humans face today. In this book, the author completes a sketch of liberalism's two faces. These two faces provide a new genealogical coordinate for liberalism. The establishment of this coordinate enhances the understanding of the liberal tradition and intensifies the critique of one aspect of liberalism—which is also the dominant one. At the same time, it explores the other aspect of liberalism—which is relatively marginal but can give new life to liberalism in. John Gray is a renowned British political scientist who served as a professor of politics at the University of Oxford and is currently a professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His works, "Liberalism" published in the 1980s and "Post-Liberalism" published in the 1990s, are considered classic readings on liberalism. The 2000 publication, "Liberalism and Its Discontents," can be seen as a synthesis of the two earlier books and also as a result of an in-depth analysis of liberalism. Its sharp critique of orthodox liberalism responds to the pluralistic trends of the contemporary world and reflects a constructive inquiry into fundamental ways of life and political systems that humans face today. In "Liberalism and Its Discontents," John Gray completes a sketch of liberalism's two faces. These two faces are not related to the dichotomy of continental liberalism and British liberalism, nor to Isaiah Berlin's distinction between positive and negative liberty. These two faces provide a new genealogical coordinate for liberalism. The establishment of this coordinate enhances the understanding of the liberal tradition and intensifies the critique of one aspect of liberalism—which is also the dominant one. At the same time, it explores the other aspect of liberalism—which is relatively marginal but can give new life to liberalism in. Liberalism's ideology has always contained two incompatible philosophical forms. In one form, liberalism is a universal, rational consensus that seeks to realize what is considered the best way of life for all humankind. Here, liberalism is the prescription for a universal regime, and tolerance is the pursuit of an ideal form of life. In the other form, liberalism is a plan that seeks to achieve peaceful coexistence between different institutions and ways of life. It is a common scheme that can be pursued in many regimes.