This introductory chapter puts forth the main thesis of this book, which addresses the question: what is the principled basis of a free society marked by cultural diversity and group loyalties? It argues that a free society is an open society, and thus, the principles that describe its nature must be those which admit the variability of human arrangements rather than fix or establish or uphold a determinate set of institutions within a closed order. This theory is contrasted with that of Canadian philosopher Will Kymlicka on liberalism. An overview of the chapters in this volume is presented.

This introductory chapter puts forth the main thesis of this book, which addresses the question: what is the principled basis of a free society marked by cultural diversity and group loyalties? It argues that a free society is an open society, and thus, the principles that describe its nature must be those which admit the variability of human arrangements rather than fix or establish or uphold a determinate set of institutions within a closed order. This theory is contrasted with that of Canadian philosopher Will Kymlicka on liberalism. An overview of the chapters in this volume is presented.