Liberal Virtues Analysis

The liberal Virtues

In his book on Liberal Virtues, Stephen Macedo explains how complicated it can be, as a liberal, to live in a pluralistic community. A pluralistic milieu is one in which where there is a lot of diversities. We will understand it as a community in which people of different social classes, religions, races, etc., are together, but continue to have their traditions and interest. Diversities usually bring change. In fact, Macedo recognizes that the liberal citizen usually faces what he calls “life options”. However, Liberalism never prescribes on how to live. Hence Macedo states that liberalism imposes burden of choices on individual in a pluralistic milieu.

Choice is a burden in a pluralistic milieu because, first of all, there are too many possibilities or choices. In fact, Macedo recognizes that “life in a liberal society is a smorgasbord confronting us with an exciting array of possibilities” (278).

Another way to comprehend the burdensome of a pluralistic is choices are never final. A pluralistic community is like a puzzle where you constantly have to make choice, a new one, at every turn. Macedo examines also how it is possible in a pluralistic society for one to change his orientation overnight. As an illustration, he states that “by encouraging

It has to be a community that is open to change. He argues that the ideal community “would be tolerant, open, and dynamic and its members would prone to experiment with different lifestyles and commitments” 278). Tolerance and broad-mindedness are so important so the character in such community can get along with those from whom they are different, considering their pluralistic characteristic. In fact, the author confirms that the liberal character is the one with “horizon broad enough to sympathize with a variety of different ways of life”