Just Finished Reading: Two Faces of Liberalism by John Gray

I have to admit that this was a difficult read – partially I think because it was, until recently, a part of my bedtime reading. This meant that I was reading it whilst feeling fairly tired and only managed four or five pages a night. This is a book that demands more concentration than my bedtime regime allows. Consequently after several weeks of minimal progress I finished Gray’s book whilst on a training course in London where I could give it the attention it needed in my hotel room.

Gray puts forward the idea that Liberalism contains threads which are basically contradictory, in that liberal philosophy teaches toleration of difference and yet at the same time puts forward its own philosophy (that of consensus) as the best form of society. Gray certainly made his point but ruined the message somewhat with incessant repetition. He did himself no favours by labouring his point and I lost count of the number of times I rolled my eyes and mumbled ‘OK, I’ve got that point… now move on to something else already!’ Despite being a rather short work (a scant 139 pages) I felt that it could have easily been condensed into a few chapters in a larger book. He did, I admit, produce a fairly devastating critique of both Human Rights and Rawlsian Justice which I found illuminating. Saving the best for last the final chapter on Modus Vivendi was an interesting discussion on different forms of government and how it is impossible – or at least very difficult – to see how Liberalism could possibly be the best fit in all circumstances. Overall this was worth the effort needed to finish it but I felt that it was far from his best work.