Political liberals like John Rawls and Charles Larmore
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start from
what they characterize as the 'fact' of pluralism, that is, the multiplicity
of conceptions of the good that exist in modern democratic society.
This leads to the 'liberal problem' of how to organize coexistence
among people with different conceptions of the good. It is worth
noting that they do not advocate pluralism because they believe
diversity is particularly valuable, but rather because they consider it
could not be eradicated without the use of state coercion. Theirs is a
Lockean kind of thinking, based more on the reasons why pluralism
should not be interfered with, than on recognition of its value. Take
Rawls, for instance. He defines the modern predicament as constituted
by '(i) the fact of pluralism and (ii) the fact of its permanence, as well as
(iii) the fact that this pluralism can be overcome only by the oppressive
use of state power (which presupposes a control of the state no group
possesses)/* Neutrality, then, is defined as non-interference with
substantive views, and pluralism is identified with the toleration of
different ways of life irrespective of their intrinsic value.