Moral Socialism and Liberal Citizenship

Stevenson, Nick

Abstract

The current crisis of liberal democracy has led to a reconsideration of the idea of socialism. This article seeks to critically compare three different approaches to socialism, all of which draw on specifically moral criteria. The first is a form of liberal socialism that has a long history in critical theory, and has most recently been re-imagined by Axel Honneth through a theory of recognition. The second is a conservative version of socialism, which encourages citizens to return to native traditions that can restrain the destructive individualism of liberalism. Finally, I look at a more materialist version of socialism that can be associated with the writing of Marx. In the concluding section, I argue that the return to a materialist vision of moral socialism is long overdue; this is especially the case in the context of the impoverished cultural life of neoliberal capitalism, and the on-going ecological crisis.

Citation

Stevenson, N. (in press). Moral Socialism and Liberal Citizenship. Critical Sociology,

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 18, 2024
• Deposit Date: Dec 18, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 19, 2024
• Journal: Critical Sociology
• Print ISSN: 0896-9205
• Electronic ISSN: 1569-1632
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/43094776