Liberalism, communitarianism and the space between: in praise of kindness

This paper argues that liberalism and communitarianism provide views of the moral life that are both too narrow. Communitarianism roots the moral life in the norms of particular communities. Liberals argue that communitariani sm is likely to be parochial and sectarian. Liberalism has sought for norms that are universal and generalizable. Communitarians claim that liberalism is a "view from nowhere" that is more likely to produce rootlessness and a nomie than justice. This paper seeks for a "space between". Its principle c laim is that moral capacities such as empathy and sympathy and conceptions such as kindness and decency occupy a space between liberalism and communit arianism because, while they depend on attachments more than principles, th ey are evoked by characteristics of others that are not rooted in group mem bership or shared identities.