Here is the puzzle for 21st C. political theory.

1. The Communitarian Argument runs: Government must provide for what we cannot provide for ourselves.

2. The Libertarian Argument runs: Government, by its very nature, infringes upon individual freedom: privacy, property, and choice. The name ascribed to government encroachment is “big.”

As Rick Perlstein points out in “Enemies of the State,” the problem with 1. is that power tends to pool in a single party, sometimes leading to corruption. The problem with 2., he shows at considerable length, is that the anti-big government movement has itself become incredibly big, with propaganda machines reproducing themselves all over the place.

The puzzle is even more enigmatic once we turn to a third line of argument.

3. The Radical Leftist Argument runs: The goal of leftism is to resistance the power of the state/capitalism complex.

I think the 3rd argument is now out-of-date. The assumption behind 1-3. is that the state’s legitimacy is not beyond question. In order to overcome the impasse characterized by 1-3., we need to take seriously the following question: What would legitimate political authority look like? On what foundation would it be built? And with what ends in view?