Il metodo dei liberali

The Liberal Method

Abstract disponibile solo in lingua inglese

The thesis formulated by the American scholar Francis Fukuyama that, by ending the ideological conflict which has dominated the history of the West for two centuries, the fall of communism has marked the "end of history", has been strongly criticised, especially by liberals. The thesis, however, contains more truth than has so far been acknowledged, for liberalism as a political method emerges as the undisputed winner of the ideological conflict. This is demonstrated also by the fact that today the left is questioning its own raison d'être and theoretical foundations. The terms "right" and "left" have not become empty labels, if "right" is taken as loyalty to the tradition agreed upon and achieved and "left" as the commitment to break the chains of economic and political privilege. What is new is that today any effort to "rethink" the left must set out from reconsideration of the problem of method, of the way of addressing problems, shifting from a totalising to an experimental conception of knowledge. This is the greatest legacy of lay and liberal culture and tradition.