Introduction
John Gray’s liberalism is not a program for political salvation, but a realistic craft of peace-building. The author dismantles the vision of Enlightenment progress, proposing modus vivendi—a model of coexistence in a world where the good has no single measure. Instead of seeking a universal consensus, Gray focuses on institutions that allow different forms of life to endure alongside one another. This article explores this vision, analyzing its foundations and practical applications in bioethics, education, and the structures of the European Union.
The Two Faces of Liberalism: Universalism vs. Pluralism
Gray points to an internal rift within liberalism. The first face strives for a rational consensus on the best model of life. The second, which Gray champions, recognizes pluralism as a primary fact.
Value Pluralism: The Objective Conflict of Goods
Pluralism is an ontological thesis: values and virtues do not form a harmonious architecture. They are a collection of magnitudes that often exclude one another in practice, making the ideal of "the one best life" a form of philosophical nostalgia.
Incommensurability: The Lack of a Common Measure for Values
Values are incommensurable—there is no universal scale that allows them to be ranked without losing their meaning. This is a feature of our moral phenomenology, not merely a theoretical construct.
Competing Freedoms Force Tragic Choices
Freedoms (e.g., speech and dignity) constantly collide. Instead of an abstract maximization of liberty, we must weigh their relative value within specific social conditions.
Modus Vivendi: Practical Agreement Instead of Consensus
Unlike John Rawls’s overlapping consensus, modus vivendi does not require shared values. It involves designing procedures capable of bearing the weight of fundamental disagreement.
Institutional Architecture: Frameworks for Peaceful Coexistence
This system is based on institutional polyphony and consociational mechanisms. Here, human rights function as minimal "anti-cruelty" mechanisms rather than a universal yardstick for dilemmas.
Markets and Subsidiarity Decentralize Conflict
Markets allow for exchange without agreement on ultimate goals. Subsidiarity is key: resolving controversies at the lowest possible level, which shifts the logic of disputes from total to local.
Free Speech: Negotiated Boundaries of Tolerance
The conflict between expression and the protection of minorities has no single answer. The US and Europe create distinct, local balances, which are different constructions of the same peace-keeping function.
Bioethics: A Laboratory for Radical Ethical Disputes
Disputes over abortion or euthanasia are a minefield of incommensurable goods. Such dilemmas cannot be resolved once and for all; they can only be managed through flexible political buffers.
Education and Memory: A Multiplicity of Historical Narratives
The school is a micro-laboratory of pluralism, where visions of a child's autonomy clash with parental traditions. Modus vivendi is the daily craft of building coexistence without symbolic violence.
The 1997 Constitution: Poland’s Worldview Compromise
The Polish basic law was conceived as an architecture of compromise; however, it erodes when it becomes a tool for the hegemony of one side of the dispute.
Institutional Reforms: The Call for Flexibility and Autonomy
Gray suggests designing law as a moving framework with safety valves. He recommends strengthening local governments and using revision clauses instead of monolithic legal structures.
The European Union: An Experiment in Supranational Agreement
The EU is the greatest experiment in modus vivendi—a federation of differences whose institutions are meant to absorb disputes (such as Brexit or migration) rather than eliminate them.
The Art of Living in Disagreement: Accepting Conflict
In a world of fluid truths, the art of living in disagreement becomes a crucial virtue. Can we build bridges without faith in a single shore? Awareness of the incommensurability of our convictions is the key to lasting peace, where difference of opinion becomes the foundation of coexistence rather than an obstacle.
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