Abstract

On liberal principles every individual ought to be treated equally, and reforms should be made in the legal and political systems to accommodate the rights of women. This sounds perfectly reasonable. However, I want to raise some questions about the assumptions of liberalism and the consequences of defending feminism in terms of liberalism. The assumption that concerns me is the liberal conception of the individual as articulated within the split between the public and the private, and in particular the theory of abstract individualism that provides the basis for the principles governing relations within the public sphere.