El carácter igualitario del republicanismo

Abstract

In this paper I intend to examine Republican Political Philosophy as a conception in dialogue with Liberalism. As I will try to show -through the use of historical examples from the origins of Constitutionalism-, both philosophies are joined by their common egalitarian aspirations, but at the same time display different understandings of the meaning and scopes of the idea of equality. Republicanism, as I will say, comes to «repair» what (they recognize as) deficits in Liberalism while an egalitarian position. However -I will maintain as well-, the success of Republicanism in this task turns out to be, at best, only partial. To proceed with this analysis, I will first refer to some outstanding features of Liberalism; next I will display Republicanism's replies to them; and finally I will mention some of the very limits of this republican reply. From now on I want to make clear that, because of the multiple and different possible characterizations of these both theories we are dealing with -Liberalism and Republicanism-, my presentation will be of interest only to those who accept the descriptions about them that I propose here.