Abstract

This article critically assesses Oakeshott’s conception of a politics of scepticism. It presents a broadly sympathetic account of this conception, but in doing so argues that the way in which he tries categorically to distinguish the politics of scepticism from the politics of faith is unsuccessful. As a consequence, it is argued that a politics of scepticism is quite consistent with a reformist, social democratic politics. Oakeshott’s approach to political theory is also compared favourably with that of John Rawls. The article concludes by setting out a broad characterization of a revised conception of the politics of scepticism, its strengths and its limitations