Liberalism emerged out of deeply divisive conflicts over the right way to live. It was precisely when European societies came to recognize that religious wars, if allowed to go on forever, would destroy everything worth saving that they imagined the notion of a state capable of appealing to all sides. And the liberal state did this, moreover, not by being neutral, but by being fair. Of course the liberal state takes sides, Barry contends. It takes sides in the sense that its very rationale assigns a higher priority to fairness than to unfairness.
All laws favor some and disfavor others.
Merely showing that a law burdens some more than others cannot, in itself, be taken as an indication that oppression exists. But it is not just self-interest that stands in the way of effective citizenship. If Christians are commanded to love their God before their country, then they do not always make the most reliable of citizens. 3 Sign up for TNR Online's books and arts newsletter Dale Peck on Love, Etc. by Julian Barnes. Worth Seeing Thugs come to America in 15 Minutes .