The Importance of Freedom of Speech

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I think I may be realizing that if you are a liberal communitarian then perhaps I am a communitarian liberal because to try to go through a similar exercise on the liberal side, there is a kind of perfectionist liberalism. There is a type of liberalism which does not just say that the fundamental building block of our political society is individuals with their rights and duties. But the best way to live is reasonably secular that we should be skeptical towards religious associations. And so my understanding of liberalism is one in which the fundamental liberal rights that people have always fought for is recognized as always having served the maintenance of different communities.

Michael Walzer is an eminent political philosopher and the author of numerous books, including Just and Unjust Wars and Spheres of Justice. He is professor emeritus at the Institute of Advanced Study, has taught at Harvard University, and is editor emeritus of the magazine Dissent.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Michael Walzer discuss why, though he is a democratic socialist, he believes that there are certain acceptable forms of inequality; what forms of injustice true egalitarians should focus on fighting; and the threats to liberalism from the post-liberal right and the illiberal left.

This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

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