书名: The Limits of Liberalism: Tradition, Individualism, and the Crisis of Freedom
作者: Mark T. Mitchell (Author)
出版社: University of Notre Dame Press (November 30, 2018)
语言: English
ISBN-10: 0268104298
ISBN-13: 978-0268104290
Book Description
In The Limits of Liberalism, Mark T. Mitchell argues that a rejection of tradition is both philosophically incoherent and politically harmful. This false conception of tradition helps to facilitate both liberal cosmopolitanism and identity politics. The incoherencies are revealed through an investigation of the works of Michael Oakeshott, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Michael Polanyi.
Review
"This is a very good book and a welcome voice in a time when, it seems, both reason and tradition are being relegated to the sidelines. The general argument of the book is presented with a kind of clarity that is rare in political theory. The argument of the book is complicated, but Mitchell makes it seem easy. His prose is clear, his argument always easy to follow. Mitchell's expertise is abundantly evident." (Richard Avramenko, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
"Mark Mitchell traces the intellectual genealogy of the part of modernity that he classifies as 'liberal cosmopolitanism' and focuses on its rejection of tradition. The book's focus is to identify why modernity rejected tradition and how tradition can be restored to its proper place in human understanding. The book deals with a large historical and philosophical topic that will be discussed for generations." (Michael Federici, Middle Tennessee State University)
"'Liberalism,' long subject to critical analysis, has come under more serious scrutiny in the aftermath of the 2016 elections and the weakening of the so-called liberal world order. Mitchell’s book, unlike so many others, is not polemical. It focuses on the impoverished understandings of knowledge in the liberal age, and implores us to return to richer alternatives illuminated by Oakeshott, MacIntyre, and Polanyi. Having considered what they offer, Mitchell ends by offering us a way out of the fierce and untenable position between an implausible cosmopolitanism and a dangerous tribalism―namely, humane localism. This is not only a superb work of scholarship, it is living political theory for the problems we face today." (Joshua Mitchell, Georgetown University)
"Mitchell has written a deep and compelling account of the school of thought that defends tradition. It will long be a resource for conservatives and others who want to understand how tradition can represent an alternative to modern rationality that both recognizes objective truth and our personal rootedness, which paradoxically is what gives us the means to understand that truth." (The American Conservative)
“Don’t be fooled by the title: This book is a desperately needed defense of reason, science, and liberty against the competing irrationalisms of the Left and Right. Drawing on the rich arguments of neglected or marginalized thinkers like Michael Polanyi and Alasdair MacIntyre, Mitchell persuasively shows why care for tradition cannot be left to sentimentalists, but requires our highest philosophical, political, and human attention.” (Nathan Schlueter, Hillsdale College)
About the Author
Mark T. Mitchell is the chair of the government department at Patrick Henry College.