Summary

In Two Faces of Liberalism, John Gray argues that liberalthought has always contained two incompatible philosophies. In one,liberalism is a theory of a universal rational consensus, whichenables the achievement of the best way of life for all humankind.In the other, liberalism is the project of seeking terms ofpeaceful coexistence between different regimes and ways of life.

John Gray argues that the liberalism of rational consensus isanachronistic in a time when most late modern societies containseveral ways of life, with many people belonging to more than one.The future of liberalism lies with a project of modusvivendi , first outlined in the writings of Thomas Hobbes. Inthe course of his argument, Gray presents a new interpretation ofliberal toleration and argues that value-pluralism in ethics cansupport a revised view of universal human rights.

This accessible book will be of great interest to students andscholars of political thought, moral and political philosophy,social and critical theory and cultural studies.