The Three Ps of Liberty
Pragmatism, Pluralism, and Polycentricity
Authors: Mendenhall, Allen
Free Preview- Defines and describes pluralism, pragmatism, and polycentricity and their importance to liberty
- Explains and evaluates Vannatta’s arguments about pragmatism and conservatism with an eye toward animating a pragmatic conservative tradition within libertarianism
- Explores Jeffrey Rosen’s depiction of Justice Brandeis as a “Jeffersonian prophet,” “the leader of a Jeffersonian tradition,” and “the Jewish Jefferson” to examine the meaning of the term “libertarian” in the context of American constitutional jurisprudence
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- About this book
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This book considers the “three Ps” of liberty: pragmatism, pluralism, and polycentricity. These concepts enrich the complex tradition of classical liberal jurisprudence, providing workable solutions based on the decentralization, diffusion, and dispersal of power.
- About the authors
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Allen Mendenhall is associate dean at Faulkner University Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, USA, and executive director of the Blackstone & Burke Center for Law & Liberty, USA.
- Reviews
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“Allen Mendenhall's The Three Ps of Liberty: Pragmatism, Pluralism, and Polycentricity gives the best account to date of "libertarian jurisprudence." Mendenhall argues that libertarianism should be understood as pluralism, basing his account on a conception of individual liberty that not only allows scope for the development of individual identity but that integrates a robust conception of human virtue. Drawing on figures like Hume, Burke, Hayek, and Oakeshott, Mendenhall offers a compelling picture of decentralized jurisprudence that makes common cause between virtue and liberty, and that provides a framework for a just and humane society. Libertarians, conservatives, and their critics from across the political-economic spectrum should welcome this careful and thoughtful investigation.” (Jim Otteson, Thomas W. Smith Presidential Chair in Business Ethics, Professor of Economics, and Executive Director of the Eudaimonia Institute at Wake Forest University, USA)
“Professor Mendenhall offers a thorough defense of legal pluralism, with a novel and persuasive intellectual history of classical liberalism’s roots. In the book, he portrays a vision of civil society that leaves room for competing mores through polycentric governance. This is a refreshing departure from the trend of promoting legal reform designed to purge apostates and enforce ideological purity.” (Stephen C. Miller, Adams-Bibby Chair of Free Enterprise, Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University, USA)
“The emergence of Donald Trump as the titular head of American conservatism has shattered the fusion of libertarianism and traditionalism that has comprised the modern conservative project. While repairing the political breach may prove difficult, Allen Mendenhall offers libertarian pluralism as a path forward for a fusionist project in legal philosophy. Along the way, Mendenhall examines not only the legal theory of leading libertarian and conservative thinkers such as F.A. Hayek, Michael Oakeshott, and David Hume, but unlikely allies such as Thomas Jefferson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and even Louis Brandeis, and the modern Seasteading movement.” (Todd Zywicki, George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, USA, and Senior Fellow, The Cato Institute, USA)
- Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Introduction: Toward Pragmatism, Pluralism, and Polycentricity
Pages 1-30
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Jefferson’s Laws of Nature, Newtonian Influence, and the Dual Valence of Jurisprudence and Science
Pages 31-71
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Natural Law and Racist Jurisprudence in Early Virginia
Pages 73-94
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Seasteading and Polycentric Law
Pages 95-115
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Justice Holmes and Conservatism
Pages 117-129
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
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- Book Title
- The Three Ps of Liberty
- Book Subtitle
- Pragmatism, Pluralism, and Polycentricity
- Authors
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- Allen Mendenhall
- Series Title
- Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism
- Copyright
- 2020
- Publisher
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Copyright Holder
- The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
- eBook ISBN
- 978-3-030-39605-3
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-030-39605-3
- Hardcover ISBN
- 978-3-030-39604-6
- Softcover ISBN
- 978-3-030-39607-7
- Series ISSN
- 2662-6470
- Edition Number
- 1
- Number of Pages
- XI, 248
- Topics