Attention to care in modern society has fallen out of view as an ethos of personal responsibility, free markets, and individualism has taken hold. The Liberalism of Care argues that contemporary liberalism is suffering from a crisis of care, manifest in a decaying sense of collective political responsibility for citizens’ well-being and for the most vulnerable members of our communities. Political scientist Shawn C. Fraistat argues that we have lost the political language of care, which, prior the nineteenth century, was commonly used to express these dimensions of political life.

To recover that language, Fraistat turns to three prominent philosophers—Plato, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and William Godwin—who illuminate the varied ways caring language and caring values have structured core debates in the history of Western political thought about the proper role of government, as well as the rights and responsibilities of citizens. The Liberalism of Care presents a distinctive vision for our liberal politics where political communities and citizens can utilize the ethic and practices of care to face practical challenges.

Shawn C. Fraistat is an independent scholar of political science. He was previously a visiting scholar in the Department of Political Science at Brown University.

Introduction

Chapter 1. Plato on Caring for the Self and Caring for Others

Chapter 2. Plato and the Politics of Authority as Care

Chapter 3. Rousseau on Care, Education, and Domination

Chapter 4. Rousseau, Authority, and the Caring Republic

Chapter 5. Godwin on Care, Impartiality, and Independence

Chapter 6. Godwin and Anarchy as Care

Conclusion

Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index