Natural Law Liberalism

Christopher Wolfe is Professor of Political Science at Marquette University. He received his PhD from Boston College and has been teaching at Marquette University since 1978. His published books include The Rise of Modern Judicial Review (1986), Judicial Activism (1991), How to Read the Constitution (1996), Liberalism at the Crossroads (1994), and Natural Law and Public Reason (2000). His edited volumes include That Eminent Tribunal (2004), The Family, Civil Society, and the State (1998), Homosexuality and American Public Life (1999), and Same-Sex Matters (2000). Dr Wolfe has published articles in First Things, book reviews, and various opinion pieces. He is the founder and President of the American Public Philosophy Institute.

• Part I. Contemporary Liberalism: 1. Contemporary liberal exclusionism I: John Rawls's antiperfectionist liberalism; 2. Contemporary liberal exclusionism II: Rawls, Macedo, and 'Neutral' Liberal Public Reason; 3. Contemporary liberal exclusionism III: Gutmann and Thompson on 'Reciprocity'; 4. Contemporary liberalism and autonomy I: Ronald Dworkin on Paternalism; 5. Contemporary liberalism and autonomy II: Joseph Raz on trust and citizenship; 6. 'Offensive liberalism': Macedo and 'liberal education'; Part II. Liberalism and Natural Law: 7. Understanding liberalism: a broader vision; 8. Understanding natural law; 9. Liberalism and natural law; 10. 'Cashing out' natural law liberalism: the case of religious liberty; 11. A natural law public philosophy.

"Wolfe's writing is often spirited, consistently incisive, and unfailingly clear. He does not stoop to caricature, is uninterested in partisan wrangling, and confines his argument to the most important issues and problems of the day. Like the interlocutors he criticizes, Wolfe is primarily interested in the future health of liberalism, and he treats those with whome he disagrees with the kind of carefulness and seriousness that bespeaks genuine respect. Although he often expresses appreciation for thir efforts and the concerns that underlie them, he does not dilute his criticisms and is frank in pointing to their failures. The result is a bracing engagement that is refreshingly direct without being combative." - Aristide Tessitore, Furman University Perspectives on Politics