ASa theory of political morality and a practical political philosophy, liberalism is nearly exhausted. Despite decades of hegemony in academic political theory, the leading theologians of the liberal faith, including most notably the late John Rawls of Harvard, have failed to produce an intellectually plausible defense of its dogmas. In the world of public affairs, liberalism’s self-proclaimed keepers of the flame—from Teddy Kennedy to Michael Moore to Al Sharpton-are shrill and ridiculous. Most Democrats and all Republicans refuse to accept the term “liberal” as a label for their views; those unwilling or unable to be classified as “conservatives” proclaim themselves to be “progressives” or, more commonly, “moderates.”
Still, there are true believers in that old-time religion of liberalism. For them the story of Harry Blackmun, as recounted by New York Times Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse, is a wondrous tale of redemption.
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