ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that a theory of agonistic political liberalism is not only viable as a version of agonistic institutions but also capable of satisfying the central objectives of most agonistic approaches and refuting the most likely objections to the pairing. It demonstrates that an agonistic political liberalism, combined with an engaged public sphere and institutions of representation oriented toward shaping the context of policy judgments, is compatible with each variant of agonistic democracy. It also articulates the advantages of an agonistic political liberalism by addressing some significant objections to agonistic democracy and the possibility of an agonistic liberalism. An explicitly contingent liberalism situated within the shared but contestable onto political foundations of contemporary pluralist democracy satisfies the objectives of pluralist agonism. Even a cursory review of the critiques of agonistic democracy would begin to make visible the contours of what might be called the generic objection to agonism.
