Republican Liberalism

14 Pages Posted: 15 Jan 2025

See all articles by Philip N. Pettit

Philip N. Pettit

Princeton University; Australian National University (ANU) - Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS)

Date Written: January 01, 2024

Abstract

Liberalism is undoubtedly under siege in the United States, perhaps also more broadly. But how do its opponents conceive of the liberalism they attack? And how should its defenders present it in their response?

The plan is to argue that policies of these broad kinds will naturally fall into place under an interpretation in which liberty requires the absence, not of interference, but of domination: that is, the absence of a power of interference on the part of others in anyone’s life, specifically in their exercise of the civil liberties. Once liberty is understood in this manner, and equality is cast as equality in the enjoyment of such liberty, then the liberal policies listed all present as elements in a coherent program of action for law and government. The idea of liberty that associates it with non-domination may seem newfangled and suspect but, as I shall try to show, it is deeply embedded in the republican thinking that the American founders inherited and have bequeathed to the country.

Suggested Citation

Pettit, Philip N., Republican Liberalism (January 01, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5043089 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5043089

Philip N. Pettit (Contact Author)

Princeton University ( email )

305 Marx Hall
Princeton, NJ 08544-1012
United States
609-258-4759 (Phone)
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HOME PAGE: http://www.princeton.edu/~ppettit/

Australian National University (ANU) - Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS) ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia

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