ABSTRACT
In the Spring 1998 edition of The National Interest, Adam Wolfson wrote that 'in recalling and celebrating Berlin, it is important to make sure people have the right man'. This was partly a reference to the famous mistake of the British Government, when Irving Berlin, instead of Isaiah Berlin, was invited to have lunch with Winston Churchill, at number 10 Downing Street during the war. The fact is that Isaiah Berlin, who by most accounts was a liberal social-democrat, or a left liberal, was also a 'cold warrior'. 'Liberty is liberty, not equality or fairness or justice or culture, or human happiness or a quiet conscience'. Anthony Quinton seems to be an appropriate author to quote when speaking of Isaiah Berlin. A crucial reference for this discussion on the role of pluralism either within the conservative tradition or the liberal one would always have to be David Hume, whose work marked so strongly both conservatism and utilitarian liberalism in Britain.
