5 - After Virtue and the Rise of Postliberalism

Summary

There are two major affinities between postliberal thinkers and MacIntyre’s own thought. First, they share MacIntyre’s critique of Marxism, expressed in After Virtue, that it is an exhausted tradition, irremediably reinforcing the moral language of liberal individualism. Although postliberals agree with MacIntyre that we can salvage insights from Marxism, they conclude that Marxism culminates in hyper-liberalism. Second, they share MacIntyre’s rejection of Anglo-American conservatism, because Anglo-American conservatism defends established traditions for their own sake. MacIntyre and postliberals develop a radical movement that exposes the established traditions as liberal traditions; to the extent postliberals draw from conservatism, they transform it into an insurgency movement challenging these traditions.