The House We Live In: Virtue, Wisdom, and Pluralism

The values of liberalism, pluralism, and democratic governance are under sustained attack from right-wing Christian fundamentalists, white ethnonationalists, and economic populists. At the same time, liberal democracies are failing at cultivating and transmitting the values, wisdom, and virtues that are the perquisites for individual and collective flourishing.

The House We Live In explores the commonalities underlying Aristotelean, Buddhist, and Confucian ethics to develop a flourishing-based ethics capable of addressing the problems of liberal democracies. It examines the moral and intellectual virtues that promote flourishing, the diversity of ways in which we might flourish, and the factors all flourishing lives share. This book offers a reaffirmation of pluralism, the liberal democratic tradition, and the necessity of a pragmatic approach to living together despite seemingly incommensurable differences.