Glen Newey’s Realism, Liberalism and its Alleged Suppression of Politics

Anno LIV, n. 225-226, maggio-dicembre 2019

A central claim of political realists is that liberalism suppresses politics. Glen Newey places this claim at the center of his rejection of contemporary political liberalism. For Newey, liberalism suppresses politics in the name of a pre-political conception of morality. This paper defends liberalism from this charge. The modern liberal state allows much more scope for politics than realists like Newey recognize. If politics is suppressed, this is more likely the consequence of political and social institutions rather than morality. Furthermore, the suppression of politics is not always a bad thing.