Liberalism as Ideology: Essays in Honour of Michael Freeden

Liberalism is the dominant ideology of our time, yet its character remains the subject of intense scholarly and political controversy. Debates about the liberal political tradition--about its history, its central philosophical commitments, its implications for political practice--lie at the very heart of the discipline of political theory. Many outstanding political theorists have contributed to the growing sophistication of these debates in recent years, but the original voice of Michael Freeden deserves particular attention. In the course of a body of work that spans over thirty years, Freeden’s iconoclastic contributions have posed important challenges to the dominant understandings of liberal ideology, history, and theory. Such work has sought to redefine the very essence of what it is to be a liberal. Liberalism as Ideology brings together an international group of historians, philosophers, and political scientists to evaluate the impact of Freeden’s work and to reassess its central claims.

Ben Jackson is University Lecturer in Modern History at Oxford University and Fellow in History at University College, Oxford. He works on modern British history, with particular interests in political thought, labor history, and the history of social and economic policy. He is the author of Equality and the British Left, and is currently writing about the intellectual history of neo-liberalism.

Marc Stears is University Lecturer in Political Theory at Oxford University and Fellow in Politics at University College, Oxford. He was previously Fellow in Social and Political Sciences at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. He is the author of books and articles in radical political theory and concentrates especially on the role that radical movements have played in shaping modern democracies.