Abstract

Liberalism's Dilemma: Pragmatism and Post-Modernity explores liberalism's basis in an era marked by the end of the modern period. The dissertation considers the major points offered in support of post-modern social theories by Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Jean-Francois Lyotard, among others. The similarities between these theories and the pragmatic theories offered by Richard Rorty and Charles Anderson are then considered in view of their impact on liberalism. Drawing on the work of Agnes Heller, J. Budziszewski, John Gray, and others, alternative means for supporting liberalism are proposed