Isaiah Berlin’s liberalism seems both dated and essential in an era of ideological extremes. Berlin’s vision of liberalism rejected metaphysics, philosophies of history, and particular conceptions of the good, setting a pattern for Anglo-American political thought that is still influential and may offer resources for understanding the resurgence of ideology in the twenty-first century, but one that also seems to be firmly embedded in the Cold War opposition of liberalism against Marxism.
In this volume, ten political theorists reconsider Berlin’s thought—especially his famous essay, “Two Concepts of Liberty”—in the light of contemporary political developments such as populism. Several contributors focus on Berlin’s neglected idea of political “maturity” as holding a key to his thought, making it an important site of contestation over his legacy. Others analyse Berlin’s notoriously fraught definition of liberty and his understanding of value pluralism; situate him as a Cold War liberal; and relate his work to that of contemporaries such as Raymond Aron and Leo Strauss.
This book was originally published as a special issue of Critical Review.
1. The Pluralist Constitution
Sonu Bedi
2. Paternalism, Individualism, and the Politics of Maturity
Steven Bilakovics
3. In Search of the Decent Society: Isaiah Berlin and Raymond Aron on Liberty
Aurelian Craiutu
4. Beyond the Cold War: Isaiah Berlin for the Twenty-First Century
George Crowder
5. German Idealism and Tragic Maturity
Shterna Friedman
6. Milton, Mill, and Berlin’s History of Monism and Pluralism
Seth Lobis
7. What (If Anything) Is Wrong with Positive Liberty?
Alison McQueen
8. Isaiah Berlin and Leo Strauss: Notes Toward a Dialogue
Steven B. Smith
9. Value Pluralism and Tragic Loss
Alicia Steinmetz
10. Two Cheers for “Two Concepts”: Isaiah Berlin’s Skeptical, Tragic Liberalism
George Thomas
Biography
Jeffrey Friedman, the Editor of Critical Review, is Visiting Scholar in the Social Studies program at Harvard University, USA. He has taught political theory at Barnard College, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, and Yale University, and is the author of Power Without Knowledge: A Critique of Technocracy (2019).
