Suchergebnisse

A revised translation of an article originally published as "Der ambivalente Liberalismus. Oder: Was halt die liberale Demokratie zusammen?" Zeitschrift fur Politik (42 [1995] 3, 250-267). A few years after the collapse of communist regimes, it is evident that the confidence about the ultimate triumph of liberal democracy was premature. This waking up to reality is not only the consequence of the hardships in the transformation of postcommunist societies, but of the intellectual skepticism regarding the normative potential of liberal democracy in the developed Western societies. The problem might in most general terms be formulated as the incapacity of liberal democracy to generate & reproduce the normative requirements for its own survival. The author thinks that the solution to this paradox can nevertheless be found within the institutional framework of liberal democracy: if the traditional moral concepts on which liberal democracy was founded in the past are worn out indeed, & no civil-religious substitute for that tradition has emerged as yet, then its only possibility is to create its own, modern or postmodern, morality by means of the public discourse mechanisms & the political participation of citizens. The normative dimension of liberalism must not be reduced to the theory of private ownership, market, & competition, but be envisaged as a constitutional theory of human rights & restricted government & the egalitarian distribution of goods & opportunities. Adapted from the source document.