From “Liberal Minimum” to the “Complete Catalog of Human Rights”

On Central Concepts of Hungarian Postdissident Liberals

in Contributions to the History of Concepts
Author:
Ferenc Laczó University of Jena f.laczo@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Search for other papers by Ferenc Laczó in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Restricted access

This article analyzes how five leading Hungarian postdissident liberal thinkers conceptually constructed their view of liberalism in the early years of postcommunism. Studying Beszélő, the most signi cant liberal journal during the early years of representative democracy, it shows how they did so through references to political “threats” and the idea of a “liberal minimum” (János Kis), local liberal and democratic traditions and “progressive patriotism” (Miklós Szabó), the ongoing “liberal-conservative revolution” and the creation of a “new political community” (Gáspár Miklós Tamás), antipolitics and “expertise” (György Konrád), and the “complete catalog of human rights” and the agenda of “modernization” (István Eörsi), respectively. Next to its conceptual analysis of heavily influential individual thinkers, the article discusses the ambition of postdissident Hungarian liberals to harmonize liberal and democratic tenets. Last but not least, it elaborates on the left-wing origins of many of their central concepts that, as suggested here, ultimately hindered liberalism's assumption of a central position in the new political system.

  • Collapse
  • Expand

Metrics

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 634 327 28
Full Text Views 17 1 0
PDF Downloads 31 2 0