Pluralism in Liberal Political Theory: From Pluralism as a Fact to Pluralism as an Inherent Value and Back

This chapter is devoted to pluralism from a more general perspective. It discusses pluralism in religious belief and demonstrates how it gave birth to the concept of toleration. Subsequently, it describes how the object of toleration evolved from the right of the magistrate to freedom of conscience as a universal human right and how it is related to the concept of autonomy. With autonomy, pluralism was no longer considered a reality to be reflected in an attempt to cooperate, but rather as a precondition that allows us to be autonomous. This shift in the understanding of pluralism has influenced contemporary currents in liberal political theory. While perfectionist liberalism understands pluralism as a value in itself, political liberalism conceives of pluralism as a fact to be taken into account as part of cooperative efforts.