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Friday, July 23, 2010

The view I am arguing for could be considered anti-liberal in three main ways. I will outline these as bullet points and expound on them in future posts.

The first anti-liberal component of my view is that I argue for limited positive liberty. This is freedom to determine or participate in the governance of the state. Post classical liberals have tended to adopt follow Constant and Berlin and hold that negative liberty is the key to justice.

The second anti-liberal component is on state neutrality. I argue that the government is not required to remain neutral on controversial matters of ethics and religion, although any "interference" in these areas must be tempered with restraint.

The third anti-liberal component is a rejection of individual atomism, the view that holds that only individual interests and/goods are basic to justice. I hold a collectivist view that asserts the value of community interests as basic along side individual interests.