Authority and the Liberal Tradition

From Hobbes to Rorty

Robert Heineman

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000675870
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Philosophy History & Theory

Authority and the Liberal Tradition critically describes the historical foundations of modem liberalism, implicitly analyzing the status and effectiveness of American democracy. Heineman examines contemporary liberal ideology, which he argues undermines the normative basis of social stability that was an Important element in the classical liberal tradition. Heineman shows how American government has become hostage to ideology, to the advocacy of interest-group politics.

Placing major Anglo-American thinkers from Hobbes to Rorty in their social contexts, Heineman traces the liberal intellectual perspective as it has evolved from the integration of culture and philosophy. He illustrates how the disjunction of theory and culture now weakens liberal thought as a foundation for effective government. Instead, he proposes returning to a philosophical position that consciously relies on community traditions and values, which can support democratic ideology.

Authority and the Liberal Tradition is especially timely at this juncture In American history, as fragmentation of the national policy process threatens government's ability to cope with major problems. This second edition includes two chapters of entirely new material: "Liberal Ideology in a Conservative Nation" and "The Dialogue of Modem Liberalism." It will be of interest to political scientists, social theorists, and philosophers.

General Index

Abbott, Philip, 7

Abraham, Henry J., 174

Acres of Diamonds (Conwell), 105

Adamson v. California, 136

Addams, Jane, 120

Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, 103

Adorno, Theodor, 24

After Virtue (MacIntyre), 205

Age of Reform, The (Hofstadter), 18

Age of Reform (Woodward), 88

Agriculture Department, 3

Albee, Ernest, 87

Albion’s Fatal Tree (Hay), 54

Alinsky, Saul, 174

Allgeyer v. Louisiana, 100

America Revised (Fitzgerald), 174

American Conservatism in the Age of Enterprise (McCloskey), 108

American Constitution, The (Kelly/Har-bison), 108

American Constitutional History (Corwin), 29,

American and German University, The (Thwing), 88

American Government (Woll), 30

American Mind, The (Commager), 136

American Philosophical Association, 182

American Political Science Review, 17

American Pragmatism (Moore), 134

American Psychiatric Association, 202

American Sociology and Pragmatism (Lewis/Smith), 173

Amoral America (Benson/Engeman), 205

Atiyah, P.S., 48, 54, 84

Authoritarian Personality, The (Adorno), 24, 26

Autobiography of Malcolm X, 109

Bain, Alexander, 126

Bannister, Robert C., 87

Becoming Deviant (Matza), 173

Bell, Daniel, 108

Benson, George C. S., ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface to the Revised Edition
• Preface to the First Edition
• Introduction to the Transaction Edition
• Liberal Ideology in a Conservative Nation
• The Origins of Liberalism
• Bentham and Burke
• Science as Social Ideology
• Laissez Faire Becomes Public Policy
• Liberalism and Social Reform
• Critics of the Primacy of Method as a Rationale for Public Policy
• Contemporary Manifestations of Reform Liberal Ideology
• Method and Dialogue in Modern Liberalism: From Dewey to Rorty
• Conclusions
• Bibliography
• General Index
• Subject Index