Taylor argues that classical liberalism assumes an 'atomistic' conception of the self—individuals as self-sufficient, rationally choosing agents who form society to protect their pre-existing rights. He contends that this view is historically and philosophically inadequate because identity is dialogically constituted through language, culture, and social recognition. We become who we are through others, and our values are embedded in shared horizons of meaning. Political liberalism, by ignoring these communal conditions, cannot adequately address the demand for cultural recognition and the protection of collective identities, making its theory of justice incomplete.

Rawls's liberalism abstracts individuals from their particular ends, assuming a 'veil of ignorance' to generate universal principles of justice. Taylor argues this abstraction is impossible and undesirable: we are always situated within specific traditions, languages, and communities. He does not reject liberalism outright but insists that it must accommodate the 'politics of recognition' for cultural and linguistic minorities. For Taylor, the good society is not merely one that respects individual rights but one that sustains the shared meanings and identities that make those rights meaningful. He thus sees Rawls's framework as insufficient for deeply multicultural societies.

Taylor's politics of recognition holds that individual and group identity is shaped by the recognition—or misrecognition—of others. When a culture is marginalized or stigmatized, its members suffer genuine harm, not just material disadvantage. Therefore, a just society must recognize the distinct identities of cultural minorities, often through differentiated rights or autonomy arrangements. This goes beyond liberal tolerance, which leaves minority cultures to private life, and demands public affirmation. Taylor's argument has been influential in debates over multiculturalism, Indigenous rights, and Quebec's distinct society.

Taylor is a practicing Catholic, and his faith informs his philosophical anthropology, though he never uses it as a premise in public argument. His emphasis on the dialogical nature of the self, the importance of transcendence, and the irreducibility of religious meaning to secular categories reflects his theological commitments. In *A Secular Age* (2007), he argues that secularity is not the inevitable outcome of modernity but a historical condition where belief in God has become one option among many. This work, widely acclaimed, shows how his philosophical and historical work is animated by a concern with the spiritual dimensions of human existence.

Taylor builds on Isaiah Berlin's famous distinction between negative (freedom from interference) and positive (freedom to self-realize) liberty. But Taylor argues that both are incomplete if they ignore the social conditions of freedom. He proposes a 'third' view: positive liberty requires access to meaningful options, which are defined by the culture and community in which one lives. True freedom is not just the absence of constraints but the ability to realize important human goods, which are intrinsically social. This position makes him a critic of libertarianism and a defender of the welfare state and cultural recognition.

Taylor distinguishes his concept of the 'social imaginary' from ideology. An ideology is a coherent, articulated body of ideas, while a social imaginary is the shared, often unarticulated background of expectations, norms, and meanings that makes social life possible. It includes the images, stories, and legends that shape how people perceive their place in the world and their relationship to others. Taylor argues that modern social imaginaries have shifted from a hierarchical, transcendent order to an immanent, egalitarian one—a transformation central to understanding modernity. This concept has been influential in historical sociology and cultural studies.

A common misconception is that Taylor is an anti-liberal or a nationalist who subsumes individual rights to the community. In fact, Taylor is a strong defender of individual rights and has been a critic of authoritarianism. He argues that rights are best protected within communities that share a common culture and identity, and he supports differentiated rights for minorities, such as the autonomy of Quebec. He does not reject liberalism but seeks to 'liberalize' it by embedding it in a richer conception of the self and community. His goal is to build a liberalism that can survive the challenge of multiculturalism.