Develops a theory of spiritual freedom and explores its relationship to problems of liberal political regimes.

• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
  • Spiritual Fullness
  • The Free Spirit and Liberalism
  • Plan for the Book
• 1. The Free Spirit
  • Skepticism
  • Skepticism and Cheerfulness
• 2. A Safe Distance from Politics
  • Eschewing Practical Politics
  • The Free Spirit in Nietzsche’s Political Philosophy
• 3. Free Spirits in Action: Practicing Political Detachment
  • Hesse
  • Lewis
  • Emerson and Thoreau
• 4. Free Spirits in Liberal Political Society
  • The Millian Test
  • Aesthetic Perspective and Spiritual Fullness
• 5. The Possibility of Autonomy: The Progressive Critique
  • The Origins of Liberal Government
  • A Practicable Sense of Autonomy
  • An Inverted Social Contract
• 6. The Desirability of Autonomy: The Communitarian Critique
  • Autonomous and Spiritually Empty
  • Community, Narrative, and Meaning
  • Autonomous and Spiritually Full
  • The Importance of Liberal Values
• Conclusion
  • Summing Up
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index