For some people, “liberal socialism” sounds like an oxymoron. Liberalism is a political idea that promises to protect individual rights. Socialism, on the other hand, is about collective power: the power of workers to organize and, if not quite seize, at least have a say in the administration of the means of production. Liberalism is about freedom, while socialism is about equality.
Not so, argues Matthew McManus, political science professor at the University of Michigan. In his new book, The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism, McManus recovers the oft-forgotten tradition of liberal socialism. He tells the story of great liberal socialist thinkers while also crafting a contemporary version of liberal socialism, relevant for today.
Samuel Kimbriel and Santiago Ramos open the episode with a discussion about the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” trucker protests in Canada, which displayed some of the tensions between socialist and liberal ideals. The conversation moves on to the thought of Mary Wollstonecraft, whether John Rawls was a socialist, and how Matthew’s experience working for McDonald’s converted him to socialism.
Samuel and Santiago press Matthew about a core first principle: equality. Why does he hold to this principle? Where does it come from? How can it be philosophically defended and justified? Matthew considers the different sources of political conviction: personal experience, and political theory. Which one is more influential in a person’s mind?
In our bonus section for paid subscribers, Matthew criticizes the “nebbish incrementalism” of neoliberalism and the excesses of “postmodern skepticism,” while declaring: “Left wing intellectuals have a lot more that they could be doing.”
Required Reading:
* Matthew McManus, The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism (Amazon).
* Matthew McManus faculty page (University of Michigan).
* Matthew McManus and Carlo Lancellotti debate about conservatives and equality (WoC).
* Matthew McManus, “The Liberal Democratic Socialism of John Rawls” (Liberal Currents).
* “Canadian Trucker Convoy Descends on Ottawa to Protest Vaccine Mandates” (New York Times).
* Article about 2010 anti-G20 protests in Canada: “Police take ‘pre-emptive strikes’ with sweeping arrests” (CTV News).
* Santiago Ramos, “The Meaning of McDonald’s” (WoC).
* Samuel Kimbriel and Damir Marusic debate “What Politics is Really About” (WoC).
* Podcast with Alexandre Lefebvre, “Liberalism is Not Neutral” (WoC).
* Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons (Amazon).
* Mary Wollstonecraft (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).
This post is part of our collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Governance and Markets.
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