Individualism and the social order
Subtitle: the social element in liberal thought
By: Charles R. McCann.
Series: Routledge frontiers of political economy ;; 55
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2004
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 234
Subjects: Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873.; Spencer, Herbert, 1820-1903.; Hayek, Friedrich A. von 1899-; Liberalism.; Individualism.; Free enterprise.; Social values.; Community.
Description: Liberalism is typically misconceived as a philosophy of individualism, which cannot accept that man exists in society and that man's values are shaped by that society. This book attempts to identify the role of community and society in the political and social thought of leading liberal social philosophers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries including John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer and Friedrich A. von Hayek. While differing as to the nature of man and society, each thinker examined holds the basic premise that man is not an isolated creature whole life is "nasty, brutish and short" but rather that his motivations are dependent upon his place in a social order. Charles R. McCann has produced an interesting work that mixes communitarianism and economics and will surprise and intrigue in equal measure. Students and academics involved in the history of economic thought, philosophy and libertarianism will find this book to be a useful addition to their reading list.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada.