Φιλελευθερισμός ή κοινοτισμός, δίλημμα ή φενάκη;

Abstract

Our guidance in this article is the central question in practical reasoning, i.e. the search of the preconditions of the good life; or, to put it differently, the search of the preconditions for the right arrangement of society, so that one is able to fulfill the moral requirements of the good of all members of the human society. Our aim is the study of rightness and objectivity in the answers that have been presented to us both by liberalism and communitarianism. Old and new reaches of communitarianism are included. In addition, we try to evaluate the real difference between the theoretical approaches of liberalism and communitarianism. In this debate, we take as paradigmatic cases Rawls and Etzioni, correspondingly. Our methodological presupposition is the real ability of both sides in this debate to construct and offer us a coherent and well-established theory of human good and social justice. Taking into account that communitarians have also concluded to certain proposals for the present state of affairs, one can come to the conclusion that communitarianism offers us a more complete and accurate picture of our common life. This fact, however, must not prevent us from recognizing the logical and theoretical pitfalls in the argumentation of the new communitarianism.