Liberalism in crisis -- Liberalism and ethics -- Liberalism's past and precedents -- Why individual rights? : rights as metanormative principles -- The natural right to private property -- Individualistic perfectionism -- Defending individualistic perfectionism -- Natural law and the common good -- Self-ownership -- Communitarian and conservative critics -- The structure of the argument for individual rights -- Defending individualistic non-perfectionist politics -- Epilogue : from metanorms to metaphysics.