The Liberal Political Conception of the Person and Public Reason: a Framework for Democratic Debate

Abstract

Every democratic regime must encounter the question about what should be the limits of public deliberation. One of the most commented proposals in that respect is John Rawls's idea of public reason. Among the different critiques that have been raised in relation with such idea, this article focuses on Michael Sandel's. In particular, I will draw on the issue of whether Rawls's public reason has the necessary tools to articulate an answer to different morally controversial problems. Even though in many cases political liberalism doesn't provide a single solution for such controversies, the truth is that its elements allow us to reach a response to most, if not all, of them. Consequently, I don't this it's adequate to assume that Rawls's public reason leads necessarily towards an empty moral discourse.