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Single Idea 20553

[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 6. Liberalism / g. Liberalism critique ]

Full Idea

The two core liberal mistakes (according to communitarians) are that people choose their values, and that they do so in some way detached from their communities.

Gist of Idea

Liberals mistakenly think individuals choose their values, without reference to the community

Source

Adam Swift (Political Philosophy (3rd ed) [2014], 4 'Correcting')

Book Ref

Swift,Adam: 'Political Philosophy (3rd edn)' [Polity 2014], p.147


A Reaction

I think I might be a communitarian liberal, meaning that extreme individualism is both incorrect and pernicious, but that communities should only exist to promote the varied lives of individuals within them.


The 24 ideas from Adam Swift

The best way to build a cohesive community is to be involved in a war [Swift]
Justice can be seen as fairness or entitlement or desert [Swift]
You can't necessarily sell your legitimate right to something, even if you produced it [Swift]
Redistributing wealth treats some people as means, rather than as ends [Swift]
Inequalities are needed, as incentives to do the most important jobs [Swift]
Hypothetical contracts have no binding force [Swift]
Isn't it more rational to maximise the average position, but with a safety net? [Swift]
Cosmopolitans reject the right of different states to distribute resources in different ways [Swift]
Libertarians about property ignore the fact that private property is a denial of freedoms [Swift]
We should respect the right of people to live in their own way, even if it is irrational [Swift]
Maybe a freedom is from a restraint, and also in order to do something [Swift]
Opportunity should ignore extraneous factors, or foster competence, or ignore all disadvantages [Swift]
Men have had the power to structure all of our social institutions [Swift]
A person can desire redistibution of wealth, without it being for reasons of equality [Swift]
Membership and inclusion in a community implies non-membership and exclusion [Swift]
Liberals mistakenly think individuals choose their values, without reference to the community [Swift]
Liberals are concerned to protect individuals from too much community [Swift]
Multiculturalism is a barrier to the whole state being a community [Swift]
Anti-colonial movements usually invoke the right of their 'people' to self-determination [Swift]
Teledemocracy omits debate and deliberation, which are important parts of good decisions [Swift]
Democracy is bad, but the other systems are worse [Swift]
Since all opinions are treated as equal in democracy, it implies there are no right answers [Swift]
Design your democracy to treat citizens equally, or to produce better citizens? [Swift]
Design your democracy to yield political stability, or good decisions? [Swift]