The contributors to this collection approach the confused and paradoxical state of modern liberalism intending to clarify some new tendencies in liberal policy and philosophy. Prominent political scientists and political philosophers reflect on the difficulty of defining liberalism in a complex world for which it has neither lost its relevance nor proven its adequacy. They speculate on religion, family, economics, foreign policy, and other issues in relationship to recent changes in the liberal idea. The contributors do criticze some liberal practices and tendencies, but their basic purpose is to define the new directions in American liberalism, assess liberal programs, and examine the changing bases of the liberal constituency. Each seeks to define the foundations for a renewal of liberalism in America.

The contributors to this collection approach the confused and paradoxical state of modern liberalism intending to clarify some new tendencies in liberal policy and philosophy. Prominent political scientists and political philosophers reflect on the difficulty of defining liberalism in a complex world for which it has neither lost its relevance nor proven its adequacy. They speculate on religion, family, economics, foreign policy, and other issues in relationship to recent changes in the liberal idea. The contributors do criticze some liberal practices and tendencies, but their basic purpose is to define the new directions in American liberalism, assess liberal programs, and examine the changing bases of the liberal constituency. Each seeks to define the foundations for a renewal of liberalism in America.