Description
Book SynopsisJoao Carlos Espada''s provocative survey of a group of key Anglo-American and European political thinkers argues that there is a distinctive, Anglo-American tradition of liberty that is one of the core pillars of the Free World. Giving a broad overview of the tradition through summaries of the careers and ideas of fourteen of its key thinkers, neglected despite having been tremendously influential in the tradition of liberty, the author engages with current set ideas about the meaning of ''liberal'' and ''conservative'' to offer an engaging, intellectual case for liberal democracy.
Trade Review"The Portuguese political theories João Espada has written a most thoughtful and instructive book on the political and intellectual resources that inform the Anglo-American tradition of liberty." - Daniel J. Mahoney, The University Bookman
"…liberalism is in serious need of rethinking and renewal. Those searching for ways forward would be greatly served by reading João Carlos Espada’s important book. Professor Espada …takes his reader on a rich journey of intellectual discovery though the Anglo-American tradition of modern liberal political theory." -Amichai Magen, Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs
"Espada’s practical and sensible approach provides academics, citizens, and political actors with valuable matter for reflection. His understanding of political action, though rooted in Anglo-American examples, is as akin to Aristotle’s conception of practical wisdom as it is to Burke’s or Churchill’s." - James H. Nichols, Journal of Democracy
"In the wake of Britain’s recent vote to leave the European Union, Professor Espada’s new book could not be more timely. For Espada argues persuasively that Europe benefits hugely from the example of British traditions of individual liberty and the rule of law. …the British Mystery is that Britain largely depends upon foreigners to articulate and defend its own traditions of liberty. João Espada’s new book is the latest contribution to this remarkable tradition." - James Bernard Murphy, Professor of Government, Dartmouth College, USA.
A personal, perceptive and illuminating journey by a continental European admirer of the Anglo-American tradition of liberty. He conducts us, both intellectually and personally through the lives and works of some of its greatest thinkers. A delightful book.
Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies, University of Oxford, UK & Senior Fellow Hoover Institution, Stanford University, USA
Table of ContentsThe Anglo-American Tradition of Liberty:
A view from Europe
João Carlos Espada
Table of contents
Introduction: Karl Popper, Winston Churchill and ‘The British Mystery’
Part I | PERSONAL INFLUENCES
1. Karl R. Popper: The open society and its enemies
2. Ralf Dahrendorf: Liberty and civil society
3. Raymond Plant: Social welfare without class warfare
4. Gertrude Himmelfarb and Irving Kristol: The moral imagination
Part II | COLD WARRIORS
5. Raymond Aron: The opium of the intellectuals
6. Friedrich A. Hayek: The constitution of liberty
7. Isaiah Berlin: Liberty and pluralism
8. Michael J. Oakeshott: The conservative disposition
9. Leo Strauss: Relativism and the crisis of modernity
Part III | ORDERLY LIBERTY
10. Edmund Burke: Liberty and duty
11. James Madison vs. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Two views of self-government
12. Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy in America
Part IV | THE SPIRIT OF LIBERTY
13. Winston S. Churchill: The English-Speaking Peoples and the Free World
Part V | POLITICS OF IMPERFECTION: THE ANGLO-AMERICAN
TRADITION OF LIBERTY
14. Limited and accountable Government
15. Two kinds of rationalism
16. Liberty as conversation
Postscript ON BRITAIN AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: THE MISSING DEBATE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
