Republicanism and Liberalism

In: Politics, Band 27, Heft 2, S. 76-82

Abstract

Republicanism has recently been defended by a variety of authors as a desirable alternative to liberalism. John W. Maynor is one of these. In his recent book, he has argued that republicanism is superior to liberalism, both in that its objectives are normatively preferable and because it is not beset with the same constitutive deficiencies as liberalism. However, his argument fails because the deficiencies he identifies in liberalism only apply to one class of liberals, and many of the normative aspects of his republicanism can be found in other forms of liberalism.