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Louis Hartz and the Liberal Tradition: from consensus to (5387 words) |
 | Before engaging in the academic pastime of after-the-fact critiques, or attempting to update or to revise the tenuous situation of liberalism at mid-decade of the twenty-first century, it might be valuable to summarize the view of liberalism as the dominant ideological thread in American history. |
| Professor Hartz's essential view is that the tradition that comes down to us from John Locke is one that respects individual property rights while at the same time honors the sanctity of the social contract, and everybody's inalienable right to participate in it. |
| It was Hartz's misfortune that at the very time he was announcing a liberal consensus, the crack-up of that long tradition was well underway. |
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