Macpherson's Liberal Democratic Ideas

This article attempts to reconstruct Macpherson's liberal democracy theory as a complete system,and defend it.In fact,Macpherson's theory is the answer of "how could a new liberal democracy be possible",which could be divided into three parts.First of all,why do we need a new liberal democracy? Macpherson believes that,the possessive market society,which is the foundation of liberal democracy,loses two necessary conditions to maintain its operation in the 20 th century,and then leads to a series of problems.In the first chapter,I demonstrate the necessity of seeking a new liberal democracy by expounding Macpherson's explanation of Hobbes,Locke,Bentham and others.Second,could a new liberal democracy be logically established? I demonstrate the adequacy of the new liberal democracy by analyzing the meanings of four important concepts(freedom,property,democracy,and maximization)when they emerge from the bondage of the possessive market society.Third,how does participatory democracy possible? The answer is that,in terms of politics,we need to adopt a combination of direct and indirect democratic election methods,and piecemeal social engineering;in terms of ethics,we need the transformation of citizens' views on their own nature.Through this part of discussion,I point out the possible conditions of participatory democracy.Among the critics of Macpherson,Sartori and Minogue are the two most representative critics.Basing on the above reconstruction,I respond to their criticisms in the fourth chapter,and point out that their criticisms are insufficient,thus complete the defense of Macpherson's theory.