An interesting piece here, part of a symposium on common ground between liberals and libertarians and the prospects for political cooperation.

However, I increasingly think that the liberal reliance (at least among intellectual types) on John Rawls’ philosophical framework is a mistake. I’ve moved in a more egalitarian-liberal direction myself, but I’m starting to think that liberals need a more positive account of the good than is allowed by Rawls’ system and its attempt to withdraw from any claims about the good life. I don’t think anybody really buys the idea that liberal policies embody some kind of metaphysical “neutrality” anyway.