The moral foundation of liberalism as a freestanding political conception is discussed, with a focus on views of Jurgen Habermas and John Rawls. Topics include classical and political liberalism, political legitimacy and moral respect, the moral footing of a freestanding politics, what Habermas and Rawls share, metaphysics and politics, Habermas’s ideal of political autonomy, democracy and liberalism, and freedom in relation to morality.
