Government 270 - VARIETIES OF LIBERALISM

This course examines some of the most theoretically interesting and influential variants of liberal political thought. Liberalism, as a broad tradition and orientation in political thinking, has tended to dominate both academic political theory, and much of the ?public philosophy? of Western, democratic countries, in recent history. This course seeks to underscore the rich variety?as well as the shared assumptions and recurrent tensions?that mark liberal thought from its ?pre-history? in the 17th and 18th centuries to the present. Authors discussed will include Hobbes, Locke, Smith, Constant, Mill, Berlin, Hayek, Rawls, Shklar and Okin. Enrollment limited to 20. (E)