Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
Abstract: Arthur Schlesinger's The Vital Center was a defense of liberalism that threw out ideas about optimism and progress. Schlesinger had learned from the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and his pessimism about human nature and sin. Just look at the "Soviet experience" and "the rise of fascism," Schlesinger told his readers in 1949, and it's clear that humans are "imperfect" and that "the corruptions of power could unleash great evil in the world." Considering that I had been reading Christopher Lasch, it was ironic to hear Schlesinger speak of "limits" throughout the book. Also strange was Schlesinger's belief that liberal democracy required certain virtues from its citizens. OK, Schlesinger may not have used the term virtue, but he certainly embraced such characteristics as "intricacy," "ambiguity," "a sense of humility," and Max Weber's ethic of responsibility-all as an alternative to the mindless certitude and "fanaticism" expected from the subjects of totalitarian political rule. Schlesinger believed citizens of a liberal democracy needed to face the "anxiety" of modernity-a heroic challenge of its own sort. This was no empty "proceduralism" nor was it the liberalism devoid of values that communitarians and "populists" like Lasch derided.
Dissent – University of Pennsylvania Press
Published: Oct 5, 2005
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.