Liberalismo procedimental holista: acerca de la propuesta de Charles Taylor y el liberalismo igualitario

Abstract

In “Cross-Purposes: The Liberal-Communitarian Debate”, Charles Taylor refers to the liberalism posited by writers like Ronald Dworkin as “procedural liberalism”. This might be a model based on an atomistic ontology, according to which society is simply an association of individuals. Both republicans and communitarians have questioned the viability of this conception at the cost of dissolving the individual in the community. Facing this risk, Taylor puts forward a holistic liberalism which recovers, through patriotic feeling, the sense of community neglected by atomism. However, beyond the dispute that could arise from the invoking of patriotism, we could ask ourselves if that holistic liberalism can be maintained. Is liberalism compatible with Taylor’s communitarianism? Is his criticism of procedural liberalism accurate? The aim of this work is to discuss those issues, by contrasting Taylor’s conceptualization with Dworkin’s egalitarian liberalism. Ihe human as the last redoubt of meaning within its apparent meaning-lessness.