ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that both the liberal and the conservative communitarian positions are inadequate and one-sided in so far as they treat autonomy and community as antagonistic and universal values. It explores the concrete historical basis on which the value of autonomy emerged in parallel with the new social institutions and social relations through which people have become relatively autonomous. The chapter describes that although communitarianism explains the social context of freedom, which is overlooked by the liberals, it cannot propose a concrete vision of a free society. Communitarians disclose the individualistic assumptions underlying liberalism and argue that it cannot give a satisfactory account of the person, the society and social conditions of freedom. The chapter explores the objective social conditions of freedom, which is the missing link in the communitarian account of freedom. The modern social institutions of wage labour, consumer freedom, freedom of contract, and the possibility of social mobility have increased the relative autonomy of people.
