Symbolic Liberalism and Dialogical Sociology

Classical liberalism, in the tradition of the philosopher John Rawls, upholds the value of equal basic liberties and the fair exercise of political power in societies where citizens have diverse and sometimes conflicting beliefs. In this talk, Professor Sari Hanafi FBA explores the contemporary implementation of liberalism by social scientists, policymakers and decision takers in a time of increasing polarisation. Hanafi calls for a “dialogical sociology” to play a role in renewing a public sphere where diverse conceptions of the ‘good’ engage in open and reasoned discourse. Speaker: Professor Sari Hanafi FBA This video is for informative and educational purposes. 10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms. This video was produced by The British Academy convenes research insights from across the disciplines we represent. The views expressed in our videos are those of the contributors and do not reflect the views of the British Academy. Find out more about the British Academy: For future events, visit our website:

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Symbolic Liberalism and Dialogical Sociology is an episode from 10-Minute Talks by The British Academy.

This episode is 13:34 long.

This episode was published on Mar 27, 2026.

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