Much has changed in the landscape of political philosophy since this book first appeared. The 1980s and 1990s brought an avalanche of books and articles devoted to what now goes by the name of the ‘liberal-communitarian’ debate. Meanwhile, John Rawls, whose deservedly celebrated work A Theory of Justice was the primary focus of my critique, has recast his theory in important ways. In the new final chapter for this second edition, I examine the revised version of liberalism that Rawls presents in his recent work. In this preface, I wish to register some unease with the ‘communitarian’ label that has been applied to the view advanced in Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (LLJ).

WHERE COMMUNITARIANISM GOES WRONG

Along with the works of other contemporary critics of liberal political theory, notably Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, and Michael Walzer, LLJ has come to be identified with the ‘communitarian’ critique of rights-oriented liberalism. Since part of my argument is that contemporary liberalism offers an inadequate account of community, the term fits to some extent. In many respects, however, the label is misleading. The ‘liberal-communitarian’ debate that has raged among political philosophers in recent years describes a range of issues, and I do not always find myself on the communitarian side.