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The Republican Critique of Liberalism

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  • Patten, Alan

Abstract

A number of writers have drawn upon the republican tradition in political thought to criticize liberals like Rawls and Dworkin for neglecting the importance of public service and civic virtue. In this article, I present and evaluate one version of this critique, which can be found in recent work by Quentin Skinner and Charles Taylor. I argue that their critique, which I term ‘instrumental republicanism’, is caught on the horns of a dilemma. Depending on how the critique is formulated, either there is no interesting disagreement between liberals and republicans, or there is, but not one which should concern liberals. Either way, instrumental republicanism cannot be said to offer an improvement on the liberal attitudes towards public service and civic virtue.

Suggested Citation

  • Patten, Alan, 1996. "The Republican Critique of Liberalism," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(1), pages 25-44, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:26:y:1996:i:01:p:25-44_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Jason Brennan, 2012. "For-Profit Business as Civic Virtue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(3), pages 313-324, March.

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