The Monist Temptation

Monism, in Berlin's sense, is the conviction that all genuine questions have one true answer, that all true answers are in principle compatible with one another, and that there exists — at least in theory — a final harmonious arrangement of values in which nothing of genuine worth is sacrificed. Berlin argued that monism is not merely an abstract philosophical error but the intellectual precondition for the most catastrophic political projects in human history. If all good things are ultimately compatible, then the costs of reaching the final harmony — however severe — are justified by the perfection that awaits. The eggs broken for the omelet are regrettable but necessary. The values sacrificed in the name of the grand design were never really values at all; they were illusions that progress will sweep away. This is the logic of utopia, and Berlin spent his life explaining why it is also the logic of tyranny — not because