Ethical liberalism

This thesis sets out to outline and defend a particular account of liberalism. Against the view that liberal political principles ought not to be constitutive of strong normative commitments, it argues that a coherent and plausible liberalism must be one that presupposes a conception of well-being, one based on the value of 'autonomy'. The liberal theorists whose work proves to be most useful this task are Ronald Dworkin and John Rawls. As well as examining the content of liberal political morality, the thesis deals with issues of methodology and liberal theory, that is, with the question of what kind of justification or 'foundation' can be provided for liberal political principles. In relation to this, as well as those of Dworkin and Rawls, the views of Michael Walzer and Richard Rorty are considered. So-called 'communitarian' critiques and accounts of liberalism - in particular those elaborated by Michael Sandel, Alasdair MacIntyre and Charles Taylor - are examined and shown either to vindicate or to be ineffective in the face of the account of 'ethical' liberalism advanced.