Kadish Workshop in Law, Philosophy, and Political Theory: Michelle Schwarze, University of Wisconsin-Madison

After Liberal Utopia: Judith Shklar on Injustice, Pessimism, and Political Reform

Abstract 

Judith Shklar’s “liberalism of fear” has captivated interpreters since its original publication nearly 60 years ago. However, as Forrester (2011) has argued, the focus on this text has wrongly cast her as a Cold War liberal solely focused on a negative conception of justice and disinterested in political improvement. Yet the deep connection between her articulation and defense of political reform (albeit one firmly grounded in skepticism about the motives of others and of lofty reforms) and the insistence on political theory’s proper focus on social injustice throughout her career is often unexplored. I seek here to build on Forrester and others who see the productive tension in Shklar’s liberalism by demonstrating that her belief in political reform is driven by a hopeful pessimism that is an anti-progressive, non-utopian, and victim-centric though uncertain about the success of any reform.

About Michelle Schwarze, University of Wisconsin-Madison:

Michelle Schwarze is Associate Professor of Political Theory at UW-Madison. Her research centers on the moral psychology of liberalism, including precursors in eighteenth century moral and political thought. Her first book, Recognizing Resentment, argued that spectatorial resentment enables justice through the recognition of equal moral and political right. She is currently at work on projects on leisure in Adam Smith’s thought, James Wilson’s popular constitutionalism, and Judith Shklar’s skeptical liberalism. 

About the workshop:

A workshop for presenting and discussing work in progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to provide an opportunity for students to engage with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues of potential interest to philosophers and political theorists.

The theme for Spring 2025 is “Critics of Liberalism,” and we will host scholars working in Philosophy, Law, History, and Political Science. Our underlying concern will be the normative critiques of substantive liberal ideas from both the left and right, as well as staunch defenders of liberalism.

This semester the workshop is co-taught by Joshua Cohen and Desmond Jagmohan.