Liberty Revisited. A Historical and Systematic Account of an Egalitarian Conception of Liberty and Legitimacy

Liberty is a contested concept, and different interpretations of it, and of its value, abound. Liberty Revisited argues for an interpretation of liberty that focuses on symmetrical relations of power and influence, rather than separate instances of action. Enjoying liberty requires that one is not subordinated. "Liberty as non-domination" has recently been advocated by republicans. Here it is employed in a different context, in a discussion with three interrelated themes: To establish non-domination as a radical and feminist, but not republican, interpretation of liberty; to argue that non-domination can function as an independent criterion of political legitimacy; and that the egalitarian aspect of non-domination includes equality of socioeconomic goods. The systematic discussion is preceded by an analysis of how the concept of liberty has been used in the history of political thought, exemplified by Kant, Locke, Mill and Wollstonecraft.

Lena Halldenius is a political philosopher at Malmö University.