Synopsis
A critique arguing that American liberalism's neutral, rights-based public philosophy has eroded the civic self-government and shared purpose democracy needs.
Core passage idea
Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted workA politics that refuses to cultivate the character and civic virtue of citizens leaves them unable to govern themselves together.
It warns that procedural liberalism, by staying neutral about the good, hollows out the moral resources self-rule depends on.
To avoid a bubble
Pair with John Stuart Mill, On Liberty.
Reading note
Read it alongside Rawlsian liberalism to feel the force of Sandel's contrast between procedural and formative politics.
Best paired with
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty