Pluralism and Reasonable Political Order: A Critical Examination of Rawls’ Political Liberalism
Author: Frank Chang
Abstract / Chinese PDF Download
Granted the fact that one of the characteristic traits of modern democratic society is pluralism, expressed in religious, moral and philosophical diversities, as well as many comprehensive doctrines of values and ways of life, the question of how to maintain social integration and stability is one which can hardly be evaded. And this is one of the essential issues that concern many renowned contemporary philosophers such as Taylor, Habermas, Walzer and Rawls. In this essay I will try to expose how Rawls in his Political Liberalism tackles, the dilemma between diversity and unity brought about by the fact of pluralism in modern democratic society. Firstly, I argue that because the issue of integration and stability occupies an important place in political philosophy, Rawls designates his doctrines “political liberalism” as distinct from traditional liberalism. Secondly, I account for his principle of “reasonable pluralism” together with the inadequacies of it. Thirdly, I try to explain the idea of overlapping consensus and explain why I deem it insufficient to solve the dilemma. And lastly, I conclude my essay by making a preliminary assessment of his theory, in short, Rawls’ enterprise is ingenious and profound, yet a little bit far away from the politically real world we are living in.