Liberalism, Perfectionism and Restraint [Hardcover]

In this study Steven Wall presents and defends a perfectionist account of political morality.Liberalism is the dominant political philosophy of our times. The main purpose of this book is to defend a 'perfectionist' account of liberalism, one that holds that the state should promote the flourishing of all who are subject to its power, even when doing so requires it to take sides between controversial views of the good life. This book provides the most comprehensive and up to date discussion of liberalism and perfectionism.Liberalism is the dominant political philosophy of our times. The main purpose of this book is to defend a 'perfectionist' account of liberalism, one that holds that the state should promote the flourishing of all who are subject to its power, even when doing so requires it to take sides between controversial views of the good life. This book provides the most comprehensive and up to date discussion of liberalism and perfectionism.Liberalism is the dominant political philosophy of our times. The main purpose of this book is to defend a perfectionist account of liberalism, one that holds that the state should promote the flourishing of all who are subject to its power, even when doing so requires it to take sides between controversial views of the good life. This book provides a comprehensive and up to date discussion of liberalism and perfectionism and deals with some of the most fundamental issues in contemporary liberal political philosophy.Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Perfectionism; Part I. The Rejection of the Bracketing Strategy: 2. The idea of restraint; 3. Political liberalism and the bracketing strategy; 4. Toleration, reasonable rejectability and restraint; 5. Public justification and the transparency argument; Part II. Autonomy and Perfectionism: 6. Personal autonomy and its value (I); 7. Personal autonomy and its value (II); 8. Three mistakes about autonomy; 9. Applications; Bibliography; Index.