Liberal Democratic Societies

The conflicting principals in modern government and modern society
Can individual freedom and the social good be reconciled? Do liberal democracies require economic preconditions to function? Can liberal democracies escape a slow drift from individual freedom and control over private property to a large welfare state that regulates and taxes all ownership and activities? To what extent do laws intended to protect people from the arbitrary actions of government themselves lead to coercion and limit freedom? Do liberal universities produce men and women that sustain democracy or undermine it? Is there a moral vacuity in liberal democracy that will undermine its vitality? These questions and others like them refer to the fragile balance between conflicting principles that are demanded of modern government.

The conflicitng principals in modern government and modern society
Can individual freedom and the social good be reconciled? Do liberal democracies require economic preconditions to function? Can liberal democracies escape a slow drift from individual freedom and control over private property to a large welfare state that regulates and taxes all ownership and activities? To what extent do laws intended to protect people from the arbitrary actions of government themselves lead to coercion and limit freedom? Do liberal universities produce men and women that sustain democracy or undermine it? Is there a moral vacuity in liberal democracy that will undermine its vitality? These questions and others like them refer to the fragile balance between conflicting principles that are demanded of modern government.

How do civility and citizenship, aspects of the individual’s attachment
to a liberal democratic society, affect the nature and future of that society?
This book reminds us of the fragility of a good political order and the
complexities of maintaining liberal democracy, even when actions of citizens
arc wise and virtuous.

From the Liberal Democratic Societies Series
How do civility and citizenship, aspects of the individual’s attachment
to a liberal democratic society, affect the nature and future of that society?
This book reminds us of the fragility of a good political order and the
complexities of maintaining liberal democracy, even when actions of citizens
arc wise and virtuous.

Delightfully unpredictable and challenging
“These essays suggest that the rule of law is not merely theory, but rather consists of an extraordinarily complex set of attitudes, institutions and practices.

How greatly the world has changed! Less than fifty years ago, Western
democracy was threatened by totalitarian regimes exerting their influence.
Today the reverse is true. Since the demise of communist rule in Russia
and the weakening of Marxist-Leninist beliefs across the world, Western
democracies have been flattered by imitation, and have been willing to
believe they can be imitated.

How greatly the world has changed! Less than fifty years ago, Western
democracy was threatened by totalitarian regimes exerting their influence.
Today the reverse is true. Since the demise of communist rule in Russia
and the weakening of Marxist-Leninist beliefs across the world, Western
democracies have been flattered by imitation, and have been willing to
believe they can be imitated.

“This is, indisputably, an important book
for our time.”–Rabbi Alan Mayor Sokobin, in International
Journal on World Peace
In this book leading moral and religious philosophers examine the relationship
of religion and morality to liberal democratic societies.

“This is, indisputably, an important book
for our time.”–Rabbi Alan Mayor Sokobin, in International
Journal on World Peace

In this book leading moral and religious philosophers examine the relationship
of religion and morality to liberal democratic societies.

Since the American and French Revolutions, the nation-state has come
to be considered the normal form of political organization. National self-determination
was a key to the programs of the liberals who campaigned for constitutional
government in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Since the American and French Revolutions, the nation-state has come
to be considered the normal form of political organization. National self-determination
was a key to the programs of the liberals who campaigned for constitutional
government in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Advances in communication technology, especially global television,
are rapidly promoting global awareness. This point was driven home with
Tiananmen Square, the demise of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, and the
collapse of communism in the USSR.

Advances in communication technology, especially global television,
are rapidly promoting global awareness. This point was driven home with
Tiananmen Square, the demise of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, and the
collapse of communism in the USSR.

Governments are losing sight
Global recession is proving an irresistible source of dangerous temptations for governments in the free world. Challenged by high levels of unemployment and waves of business failure, governments are losing sight of the essential role of work as a bulwark of freedom.

Governments are losing sight
Global recession is proving an irresistible source of dangerous temptations for governments in the free world. Challenged by high levels of unemployment and waves of business failure, governments are losing sight of the essential role of work as a bulwark of freedom.