Book Review: Against Liberalism, on a Repercussive Critics on Liberalism

Malekzadeh, Hamid; Khaleghi Damghani, Ahmad

doi:10.30465/crtls.2020.31443.1883

Document Type : Research

Authors

¹ PhD in Political Science (Political Thought), University of Tehran

² Associate Professor of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran

https://doi.org/10.30465/crtls.2020.31443.1883

Abstract

In this essay, we have tried to study the form and content of the book Against Liberalism, to show that John Kekes’s work is suffering from a kind of theoretical trap that runs throughout his book. In doing so, we have followed a textualist standpoint by which we aimed to highlight the main framework of Kekes’s understanding of liberalism. We explained that his understanding of liberalism is fundamentally affected by his conservatism standpoint. This affection is the main source of what we call Kekes’s theoretical trap. The theoretical trap that ultimately leads the author to a misunderstanding on his goal, which is to present a coherent critique of liberalism, and turns his work into rhetorical statements in political debates. We have tried, as far as possible, to refrain from using any personal views on politics in this paper, especially in the face of liberalism and conservatism. John Kekes’s book is, in general, and in terms of scientific validity and the importance of the contribution to the subject area, has a very low validity and quality.

Keywords

Main Subjects

political science

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Pizhuhish nāmah-i intiqādī-i mutūn va barnāmah hā-yi ̒ulūm-i insāni (Critical Studies in Texts & Programs of Human Sciences)

Book Review: Against Liberalism, on a Repercussive Critics on Liberalism

References

References

Volume 20, Issue 7 - Serial Number 83
September 2020
Pages 313-336

Book Review: Against Liberalism, on a Repercussive Critics on Liberalism

References

References

Volume 20, Issue 7 - Serial Number 83September 2020Pages 313-336

Volume 20, Issue 7 - Serial Number 83
September 2020
Pages 313-336