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Liberalism: Liberalism in political philosophy is a set of beliefs that emphasize individual liberty, equality, and the rule of law. Liberals believe that individuals should be free to live their lives as they see fit. See also Libertarianism, Communitarianim, Individualism, Freedom, Society, Democracy.
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Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments.

 
Author Concept Summary/Quotes Sources

Ronald Dworkin on Liberalism - Dictionary of Arguments

Gaus I 104
Liberalism/Dworkin, Ronald/Gaus: Dworkin thesis: liberalism rests on a basic commitment to equality, not liberty (1978(1): 115; see also 2000(2): Part I).
According to his egalitarian liberalism, liberties such as freedom of speech and association are ways to achieve equal concern and respect.
>Free Speech
, >Freedom, >Egalitarianism.
Their equal distribution is an instance of the general case for an equal distribution of resources and opportunities.
>Equal Opportunities, >Equal Rights, >Inequalities.
The special status attributed to these basic liberties in liberal thought does not derive from the unique importance of freedom, but arises as a way to express equal concern and respect. It must be wondered whether liberalism is rendered more plausible by, first, almost entirely removing its traditional core of liberty and, second, replacing it with equality, a value that has traditionally had a complex and difficult place in liberal theory (Freeden, 1996(3): 241; Gaus, 2000a(4): 166–8) (...).

1. Dworkin, Ronald (1978) ‘Liberalism’. In Public and Private Morality, ed. Stuart Hampshire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 115–43.
2. Dworkin, Ronald (2000) Sovereign Equality: The Theory and Practice of Equality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
3. Freeden, Michael (1996) Ideologies and Political Theory. Oxford: Clarendon.
4. Gaus, Gerald F. (2000a) Political Theories and Political Concepts. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Gaus, Gerald F. 2004. „The Diversity of Comprehensive Liberalisms.“ In: Gaus, Gerald F. & Kukathas, Chandran 2004. Handbook of Political Theory. SAGE Publications.

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Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments
The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition.

Dworkin I
Ronald Dworkin
Taking Rights Seriously Cambridge, MA 1978

Gaus I
Gerald F. Gaus
Chandran Kukathas
Handbook of Political Theory London 2004


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