Letter: Labour must respect liberty

From Ms Anna Coote

Sir: The philosophers Taylor, Sandel and McIntyre cannot be blamed for the politicisation of their ideas, or for the communitarianism propagated by Amitai Etzioni and others. But their works, whether they like it or not, are prominent in providing a philosophical foundation for communitarian rhetoric, essentially because of their critique of liberalism and individualism.

The central point of my argument remains: that communitarianism dangerously offers an intellectual fig leaf for politicians who are prepared to sacrifice civil liberties principles on the altar of popular democracy to show how tough they are.

Yours sincerely,

Anna Coote

Institute for Public

Policy Research

London, WC2