Pluralism and pessimism: A central theme in the political thought of Stuart Hampshire

• Autores: Peter Lassman
• Localización: History of political thought, ISSN 0143-781X, Vol. 30, Nº 2, 2009, págs. 315-335
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Stuart Hampshire's political thought is an important but often overlooked contribution to contemporary debates concerning the nature and permanence of plural and conflicting values. In its combination of a pessimistic view of the limits of politics with a deep respect for pluralism and disagreement Hampshire's thought can be regarded as a significant version of 'the Liberalism of fear'. This is grounded in a belief that the inherited innocence of moral and political thinking has been undermined by our experience of the horrors of the twentieth century. Hampshire's response is to propose a minimal form of proceduralism that contrasts with Rawls's political liberalism. Hampshire offers a criticism of the moralism that characterizes much modern political philosophy without advocating a stark realism.