This work tackles key issues like state legitimacy, value pluralism, neutrality and public reasons, and argues that liberalism by-passes politics because it ignores or misunderstands human motivation, and elevates academic system building over political realities of conflict and power.

Why do political philosophers shy away from politics? This work offers a challenging and original critique of liberalism, tackling key issues like state legitimacy, value pluralism, neutrality, the nature of politics, public reasons, and morality in politics. Analyzing major liberal theorists like Rawls, Habermas, Rorty, Barry, Gray, Raz, Larmore, Ackerman and others, Glen Newey argues that liberalism by passes politics because it ignores or misunderstands human motivation, and elevates academic system building over political realities of conflict and power.

Dedication - Acknowledgements - Preface - Political Philosophy and Politics - Philosophy, Politics and Contestability - Political Obligation - Politics and the Limits of Pluralism - Moral Theory and Political Philosophy - Neutralising Politics - Rawls and Habermas: Liberalism versus Politics - Political Philosophy Without Foundations? - Bibliography - Index