Liberalism as Ideology

Essays in Honour of Michael Freeden

Edited by Ben Jackson and Marc Stears

Includes contributions from some of the leading scholars in the field
Chapters are written in a clear and accessible style
First systematic evaluation of Michael Freeden's scholarship

Liberalism as Ideology

Essays in Honour of Michael Freeden

Edited by Ben Jackson and Marc Stears

Description

Liberalism is the dominant ideology of our time, yet its character remains the subject of intense scholarly and political controversy. Debates about the liberal political tradition--about its history, its central philosophical commitments, its implications for political practice--lie at the very heart of the discipline of political theory. Many outstanding political theorists have contributed to the growing sophistication of these debates in recent years, but the original voice of Michael Freeden deserves particular attention. In the course of a body of work that spans over thirty years, Freeden's iconoclastic contributions have posed important challenges to the dominant understandings of liberal ideology, history, and theory. Such work has sought to redefine the very essence of what it is to be a liberal. Liberalism as Ideology brings together an international group of historians, philosophers, and political scientists to evaluate the impact of Freeden's work and to reassess its central claims.

Liberalism as Ideology

Essays in Honour of Michael Freeden

Edited by Ben Jackson and Marc Stears

Preface: Return of the Native, David Marquand
Introduction, Ben Jackson and Marc Stears
Part I: Liberal Languages
1. A Cautious Embrace: Reflections on (Left) Liberalism and Utopia, David Leopold
2. Socialism and the New Liberalism, Ben Jackson
3. Liberalisms in India: An Exploratory Sketch, Rochana Bajpai
4. Liberalism and American Stories of Peoplehood, Marc Stears
5. The Liberal Dilemma: The Economic and the Social, and the Need for a European Contextualization of a Concept with Universal Pretensions, Bo Strath
6. The Problem of Political Parties in Western Liberalism, 1868-1968, Paolo Pombeni
Part II: Ideologies and Political Theory
7. Liberalism and Analytical Political Philosophy, David Weinstein
8. Political Ideology and Political Theory: Reflections on an Awkward Partnership, Andrew Vincent
9. Ideology, Political Philosophy, and the Interpretive Enterprise: A View from the Other Side, Gerald Gaus
10. Civil Society and the Reconstruction of the Public Sphere: Ideologies between Theory and Politics, Gayil Talshir
11. In Defence of Political Understanding?, Michael Kenny
12. Getting 'Real' About Political Ideas: Conceptual Morphology and the Realist Critique of Anglo-American Political Philosophy, Mathew Humphrey
13. The Professional Responsibilities of the Political Theorist, Michael Freeden
Michael Freeden: A Bibliography

Liberalism as Ideology

Essays in Honour of Michael Freeden

Edited by Ben Jackson and Marc Stears

Author Information

Ben Jackson is University Lecturer in Modern History at Oxford University and Fellow in History at University College, Oxford. He works on modern British history, with particular interests in political thought, labor history, and the history of social and economic policy. He is the author of Equality and the British Left, and is currently writing about the intellectual history of neo-liberalism.

Marc Stears is University Lecturer in Political Theory at Oxford University and Fellow in Politics at University College, Oxford. He was previously Fellow in Social and Political Sciences at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. He is the author of books and articles in radical political theory and concentrates especially on the role that radical movements have played in shaping modern democracies.

Contributors:

Rochana Bajpai is Lecturer in Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Michael Freeden is Professor of Politics at Oxford University and a Fellow of Mansfield College.
Gerald Gaus is James E. Rogers Professor of Philosophy at Arizona University.
Mathew Humphrey is Reader in Political Philosophy at Nottingham University.
Ben Jackson is University Lecturer in Modern History at Oxford University and a Fellow of University College.
Michael Kenny is Professor of Politics at Sheffield University.
David Leopold is University Lecturer in Political Theory at Oxford University and a Fellow of Mansfield College.
David Marquand is a political writer and historian. He was Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford (1996-2002) and Professor of Politics at Sheffield University (1991-96).
Paolo Pombeni is Professor of Contemporary History at Bologna University.
Marc Stears is University Lecturer in Political Theory at Oxford University and a Fellow of University College.
Bo Stråth is the Academy of Finland Distinguished Professor in Nordic, European and World History at Helsinki University.
Gayil Talshir is Lecturer in Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Andrew Vincent is Professor of Political Theory at Sheffield University.
David Weinstein is Professor of Political Science at Wake Forest University.