Sexuality and the "System of Liberty": Comment on Stolzenberg

Marriage and liberal democracy are forms of ordered liberty, one standing between sexual license and ascetics, and the other standing between anarchy and oppression. The relationship between liberal democracy and sexual liberty can be framed using four strategies devised by the liberal democratic project to limit the scope of personal freedom. This article places Stolzenberg's theory of love and liberty within the fourth strategy, which places limits on individual conduct through personal development and perfection. The author concludes that Stolzenberg is too bold for resting ordered sexual liberty on love, and suggests that the ultimate test for any form of social institution is if it can bear the sacrifices its survival requires.