Isaiah Berlin and neo-Hobbesians: interpretation of public rationality

The author considers I. Berlin as the founder of "Post-Enlightenment liberalism", the ideas of which have influenced the development of the new school in the liberal thought. One of the main problems of this school is how to justify the rational consensus and public rationality in the world of ethical and epistemological pluralism. The central dilemma of contemporary liberal political philosophers is Hobbesian dilemma of collective rationality and private judgment. The article describes in details Kurt Baier’s theory of social rationality and "ethical egoism". It identifies the main advantages and disadvantages of these concepts.