Michael Oakeshott’s Cold War Liberalism

By: Terry Nardin

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: During the Cold War, political thinkers in the West debated the balance between the requirements of liberal democracy and national security. This debate resonates in today's East Asia and especially Korea, where an ideological-military standoff between democracy and a totalitarian system persists. The thinkers often identified as 'Cold War liberals'—Isaiah Berlin, Karl Popper, Raymond Aron, Friedrich Hayek, and Michael Oakeshott—are worth revisiting in this context. Of these, Oakeshott is the least-well understood in East Asia and therefore particularly deserving of attention. Especially valuable are his ideas about the limits of rationalism in politics, the irrelevance of conventional views of liberalism and conservatism, and how constitutional democracy should be defined and defended against various forms of anti-liberal politics. In this book, leading Oakeshott scholars from around the world explore these ideas and their implications for East Asia in ten illuminating and readable essays.