Description
Book SynopsisWilliam Bennett's moral guide for children, "A Book of Virtues", was a national bestseller. Yet, many continue to associate virtue with a prudish, Victorian morality. This book clarifies the fundamental issues, and presents analyses of four central figures in the making of modern liberalism: Hobbes, Locke, Kant, and Mill.
Trade Review"'Whither liberalism?' The question is so shopworn that one is inclined to feel grateful to anyone for asking instead: 'Whence?' Knowing where we came from may not tell us where we are going, but it at least points us in the right direction. Peter Berkowitz has now done us this timely service with Virtue and the Making of Modern Liberalism."--Bret Louis Stephens, Wall Street Journal "In elegantly written studies of Hobbes, Kant, Locke, and Mill, Berkowitz finds that the fathers of modern liberalism, not unsurprisingly, believed that the virtues are necessary even in a liberal regime."--First Things
Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction3Ch. 1Hobbes: Politics and the Virtues of a Lesser Order35Ch. 2Locke: Private Virtue and the Public Good74Ch. 3Kant: Virtue within the Limits of Reason Alone106Ch. 4Mill: Liberty, Virtue, and the Discipline of Individuality134Conclusion170Notes193Index229
