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In The Limits of Liberalism, Mark T. Mitchell argues that a rejection of tradition is both philosophically incoherent and politically harmful.
The Limits of Liberalism identifies why most modern thinkers have denied the essential role of tradition and explains how tradition can be restored to its proper place. Mitchell demonstrates that the rejection of tradition as an epistemic necessity has produced a false conception of the human person—the liberal self—which in turn has produced a false conception of freedom. Together, these false conceptions have facilitated both liberal cosmopolitanism and identity politics.
Mitchell uses the philosophies of Michael Oakeshott, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Michael Polanyi to construct a compelling argument for a reconstructed view of tradition and, as a result, a reconstructed view of freedom. The Limits of Liberalism reveals that only by finding an alternative to the liberal self can we escape the incoherencies and pathologies inherent therein.
“As it stands,The Limits of Liberalism is a compelling and worthwhile contribution to the ongoing intellectual debate over the future of political life in the West—and it undoubtedly belongs on any philosophical conservative’s reading list.” —Patheos
Mark T. Mitchell is the dean of academic affairs at Patrick Henry College and co-founder of Front Porch Republic. He is the author and co-editor of a number of books, including Plutocratic Socialism: The Future of Private Property and the Fate of the Middle Class.
Introduction: Surveying the Landscape and Defining Terms
1. The Seventeenth-Century Denigration of Tradition and a Nineteenth-Century Response
2. Michael Oakeshott and the Epistemic Role of Tradition
3. Alasdair MacIntyre’s Tradition-Constituted Inquiry
4. Michael Polanyi and Role of Tacit Knowledge
5. The Incoherence of Liberalism and the Response of Tradition
Afterward: A Conservatism Worth Conserving or Conservatism as Stewardship
Bibliography