What Social Ethics? Reflections on the Ethical and Political Views of Isaiah Berlin and Leszek Kołakowski

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to reflect on the issue of social ethics within liberal democracy. An important and auxiliary element of the article is a comparative analysis of the thinking of Isaiah Berlin and Leszek Kolakowski. This analysis was carried out on selected essays of the indicated philosophers. The main method used for the research was my own interpretation of these philosophers’ work and I attempt to make a synthesis. The result is a list of social values, together with definitions, deemed essential for the political system of liberal democracy. These are: pluralism, tolerance, freedom, openness, rational communication, humility and responsibility (all taken in conjunction). The method of “balancing the claims” (Berlin) and the method of “balancing the opposing dangers” (Kołakowski) should be a fundamental bulwark against making a principle absolute, especially the principles of tolerance and freedom. Openness and rational communication constitute the key to the acceptance of the principle of social pluralism, which must always go hand in hand with a sense of responsibility.