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Positive Democracy: Reconciling Sir Isaiah Berlin's Conception of Positive Liberty with Democratic Theory University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2002 Positive democracy: Reconciling Sir Isaiah Berlin's conception of positive liberty with democratic theory Andrew L. Campbell The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Campbell, Andrew L., "Positive democracy: Reconciling Sir Isaiah Berlin's conception of positive liberty with democratic theory" (2002). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5260. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5260 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maunreem and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. ** * * Please check “Yes ” or “No ” and provide signature Yes, I grant permission No, I do not grant permission Author’s Signature. u Date: S ' j z ^ j O Z , Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author’s explicit consent. POSITIVE DEMOCRACY: RECONCILING SIR ISAIAH BERLIN’S CONCEPTION OF POSITIVE LIBERTY WITH DEMOCRATIC THEORY by Andrew L. Campbell B. A. University of Montana, 2001 presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts The University of Montana May 2002 lairperson Dean, Graduate School: ^ - 3 0 - 0 2 - Date UMI Number: EP40724 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI EP40724 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQ uest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 -1346 Campbell, Andrew L. M. A., May 2002 Political Science Positive Democracy: Reconciling Sir Isaiah Berlin’s Conception of Positive Liberty With Democratic Thought Director: Ramona Grey In Sir Isaiah Berlin’s seminal lecture ‘Two Concepts of Liberty,” Berlin distinguishes two historically prevalent models of liberty: “negative” and “positive.” After a general interpretation of these terms, Berlin’s lecture turns toward an evaluative analysis, arguing that the political consequences of embracing the positive ideal inevitably results in a considerable loss of individual liberty and the rise of anti-democratic regimes. Certainly, it is true that no open democratic society can forsake negative freedom as Berlin defines it. However, it is my contention thatprogressive no democratic society can do without an embrace of positive freedom either. Thus, it is the intent of this thesis to examine Berlin’s theoretical position, first questioning whether the political consequences he associates with positive liberty are, indeed, the inevitable result of embracing its basic tenets, and second, that positive liberty’s relationship with democracy is stronger than he is willing to admit. While Berlin’s arguments are leveled against liberal theorists like T.H. Green who advocate an amount of positive liberty in liberal democracy, it is against those who seek collectivist or republican political associations that he provides his most passionate critiques. However, seeking a remedy for the political anxiety of contemporary America, defined by Michael Sandel as the loss of self-government and the erosion of community, may require the empirical and normative tenets of a republican democracy, with its strong embrace of positive liberty. CONTENTS ABSTRACT .............................. ii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1 2. DISTINGUISHING NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE LIBERTY IN SIR ISAIAH BERLIN’S “TWO CONCEPTS OF LIBERTY’ ................................ 11 Negative Liberty Positive Liberty The Usefulness of this Distinction for Political Inquiry Conclusion 3. THE POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE LIBERTY AS EMBEDDED IN THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN DEMOCRATIC AND ANTI-DEMOCRATIC THOUGHT ................ 31 Democratic Theory: An Overview Liberal/Procedural Democracy Republican/Substantive Democracy The Political Consequences of Negative and Positive Liberty Democracy: Negative or Positive? 4. A RECONSIDERATION OF POSITIVE LIBERTY.............................. 63 An Analytical Reconsideration of Berlin’s Interpretation of Positive Liberty Challenging Berlin: T. H. Green and the “Great Transformation” 5. THE SEARCH FOR POSITIVE DEMOCRACY IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES ................................................................................................ 95 “Rife with Discontent” The Rise of America’s Liberal Contentment: The Debate Between Negative and Positive Liberty America’s Loss of “Self-Mastery” Conclusion: Sir Isaiah Berlin and the Implementation of Republican Positive Liberty NOTES ............................................................................. 132 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......... 150 iv CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Upon his death in 1997, Sir Isaiah Berlin’s biographer and long-time editor Henry Hardy remarked, “Isaiah Berlin was one of the most remarkable men time...of his Philosopher, political theorist, historian of ideas; Russian, Englishman, Jew; essayist, critic, teacher; he was a man of formidable intellectual power with a rare gift for understanding a wide range of human motives, hopes and fears.”1 Hardy’s recollection of Berlin captures the many faces of one of the leading liberal thinkers of the twentieth century. Best known for his essays and lectures on the history of ideas, Berlin’s contribution to political philosophy, especially his concern with liberty and the dignity of human beings, has had a significant impact on theoretical discussions of what is uniquely human and what is not, and why. Broadly, Berlin suggests that human experience is contingent upon specific, categorical models, “say those of purpose or of belonging to a group or of law.” Throughout his work, Berlin seeks to expose these models of experience, so as to better understand “the source, scope, and validity of certain human goals.”2 Berlin’s essays, lectures, and conversations, upon which his reputation has been built, represents a great wealth of Western philosophical and political thought. Initially, Berlin’s interest in philosophy was shaped by the agenda of logical positivism—an influential brand of formal philosophy rooted in strict empirical views of linguistics and natural, social and political sciences.3 For Berlin, however, the questions arising within the positivist school, such as the condition of sentences having specific and definable meaning in reference to external reality, were sterile and disconnected with human thought, action and history. Berlin, anxious to develop, explore and express his historical imagination, embarked on an intellectual journey to reveal clear and intelligible insights to the social, cultural, political, historical and biographical dimensions of everyday life. Berlin’s early work, therefore, reflects a growing resistance to the formalities of the positivist school. A resistance which after World War II would culminate in a total repudiation of this brand of general philosophy.4 “Verification” (1939), and “Empirical Propositions and Hypothetical Statements” (1950), two early essays by Berlin, exemplify his denial of the strict empiricism of logical positivism. In attacking a key feature of the contemporary empiricist philosophers, Berlin writes, “the principle of verification [the notion that the meaning of a proposition resides in the means of its verification] cannot, for all that, be accepted as a final criterion of empirical significance.”5 For Berlin, all thought, abstract as well as analytical, empirical and metaphysical, exists not out of an objectively measurable connection with its historical, personal, and thought contexts, but, Bernard Williams writes, “Berlin uniquelyconveys... that every thought belongs, not just somewhere, but to someone, and is at home in the context of other thoughts, a context which is not purely formally prescribed.”6 Language remains largely fluid in its contents and meaning, a position that becomes apparent in Berlin’s thorough critique of the questions positivists raise: “I shall consequently urgethat... [verification] needs to be abandoned or else considerably revised.” Berlin’s skepticism of positivist philosophy, and his ever-present historical curiosity, had a profound impact on his intellectual development. In the essays “The Purpose of Philosophy” (1962), and “Does Political Theory Still Exist” (1961), Berlin again argues that understanding the contents and origins of human meaning and knowledge should not be limited to the positivist goal of charting the objective uses and implication of ordinary
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