A Tale of Two Liberalisms: Desegregating American Political Thought

What is the nature of America’s liberal inheritance? These days, prominent political thinkers—pro-liberals, anti-liberals, and postliberals alike—seem to agree, following Louis Hartz, that American liberalism is individualist, Enlightenment liberalism grounded in Lockean teachings. This is a mistake. We would do better to understand American political thought as defined not just by Enlightenment liberalism but also by Exodus liberalism, the latter of which has been expressed primarily (though not exclusively) in African American political thought. It is in the complex interplay between these two liberal traditions that we can better understand the nature of, and the possibilities for, American liberalism and American politics. This essay tells part of the story of how political scientists came to neglect Exodus liberalism, then envisions a more comprehensive approach to American political thought—a desegregated American political thought.