Abstract

In this paper I argue that, contrary to what might appear at a first glance, political concerns have systematically characterized Williams' ethical reflection along the full course of its development. I proceed by taking into account Williams' specific notion of political realism in the light of the critiques he moves against the lack of historical awareness affecting various forms of Liberal thought. I then examine Williams' position regarding ethical and political relativism in relation to the Communitarian perspective. I therefore try to show that Williams' ethical and political position can be made sense of as a distinctive and coherent form of Humanism in which human beings conceived as specific individuals are given the central place.