文章基本信息

标题：The Liberal State versus Individual Rights
本地全文：下载
作者：John H. Ahrens ; Fred D. Miller; Jr.
期刊名称：Reason Papers : A Journal of Interdisciplinary Normative Studies
印刷版ISSN：0363-1893
出版年度：1982
卷号：8
出版社：Reason Papers
摘要：A TTEMPTS TO REVITALIZE philosophical doctrines by placing them on a new footing merit attention at least because they may expose elements that have hitherto gone unnoticed or been given insufficient weight. This is, for example, a major strength of John RawBs9s Theory of Justice, which casts a great deal of light on the notion of an ""original position,'' or prepolitical state out of which some sort of social compact is supposed to arise: and on the sorts of agreements that can be imputed to ""reasonable" people, Bruce A. Ackerman's attempt to revitalize liberalism, in Social Justice in the Liberal State (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 19801, exhibits the same strength, with one significant difference: whereas Rawls's attempt to revitalize contractarianism is most illuminating insofar as it succeeds, Ackerman's attempt to rwitalize liberalism is most illuminating precisely where if fails. We will accordingly concentrate on the failure of Ackermm9s central arguments to address adequately issues that traditionally have been problematic for liberalism. Although Ackerman offers ira~novative discussions of several public policy issues, they are not central to his attempt to ground liberalism, and we will not discuss them here.