The Two Faces of Liberalism (New Edition)

Author: (British) John Gray, translated by Guo Aibin, Li Ruihua
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 book "Liberalism and Its Discontents" published in 2000 can be seen as a synthesis of the two earlier works, but it can also be viewed as a deeper 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 of humanity 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 uncovers 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 book "Liberalism and Its Discontents" published in 2000 can be seen as a synthesis of the two earlier works, but it can also be viewed as a deeper 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 of humanity today. In "Liberalism and Its Discontents," John Gray completes a sketch of liberalism's two faces. These two faces are not concerned with the dichotomy of continental liberalism and British liberalism, nor with 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 uncovers 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 humanity. Here, liberalism is the prescription for universal governance, and tolerance is the pursuit of an ideal way of life. In the other form, liberalism is a plan that seeks to achieve peaceful coexistence between different systems and ways of life, and it is a common scheme that can be pursued in many regimes.