Liberalism
John Gray
Since the publication in 1986 of the first edition of Liberalism, both the world and the author’s views have changed significantly. In this new edition, John Gray argues that whereas liberalism was the political theory of modernity, it is ill-equipped to cope with the dilemmas of the postmodern condition. The task now, as Gray sees it, is to develop a pluralist theory, in which the liberal problem of finding a modus vivendi among rival communities and worldviews is solved in postliberal terms.
“The best available introduction to the dilemmas of modern regimes.” Crisis
Since the publication in 1986 of the first edition of Liberalism, both the world and the author’s views have changed significantly. In this new edition, John Gray argues that whereas liberalism was the political theory of modernity, it is ill-equipped to cope with the dilemmas of the postmodern condition. The task now, as Gray sees it, is to develop a pluralist theory, in which the liberal problem of finding a modus vivendi among rival communities and worldviews is solved in postliberal terms.
Copublished with Open University Press
$21.50 paper ISBN 978-0-8166-2801-8
128 pages, 5 1/4 x 8 1/2, 1995
John Gray is a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford.
“The best available introduction to the dilemmas of modern regimes.” Crisis
“In a new conclusion, Gray sets out the postliberal and pluralist view that he now holds - that liberal regimes are only one type of legitimate polity and that liberal practice has no special or universal authority.” Journal of Economic Literature