The dispute that divided political philosophy during the eighties into two camps, liberals versus communitarians, would now appear to be over. On both sides an atmosphere of détente seems to be prevailing over the reasons for dissent. Even an author such as Charles Larmore, one of the most well-known advocates of a strictly political view of liberalism, has recently anticipated the possibility of integrating the romantic and the communitarian legacy within the context of liberal individualism.In his latest book, The Romantic Legacy, Larmore elaborates on this possibility by analyzing four fundamental features of romanticism: imagination, a sense of belonging to a community, irony and authenticity. In this essay, the author highlights the ensuing difficulties and defends the need to maintain the liberal distinction between political and cultural rights and the corresponding separation of the respective spheres of pertinence.
