Liberal Solidarity: A Conversation

Abstract

This conversation between Geoffrey M. Hodgson and Paolo Silvestri touches on the main themes of Hodgson’s 2021 book Liberal Solidarity: The Political Economy of Social Democratic Liberalism. In the book, Hodgson uses insights from institutional and evolutionary economics. Here he explains the differences between solidaristic liberalism and the ideas of Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig Mises, Ayn Rand, and others. He argues that the mainstream assumption of utility maximization can have deleterious policy consequences. With consequentialism, duty and virtue are downplayed. A developmental view of liberty is contrasted with the Hayek-Friedman definition of liberty as simply the absence of constraint. Economic inequality is identified as a major problem. The roles of markets and the state are also discussed, as well as the possibilities for democracy and the pressing problem of climate change.