Centrist democratic ideologies and movements Books

Book SynopsisBy both its supporters and detractors, neoliberalism is usually considered an economic policy agenda. Neoliberalism's Demons argues that it is much more than that: a complete worldview, neoliberalism presents the competitive marketplace as the model for true human flourishing. And it has enjoyed great success: from the struggle for "global competitiveness" on the world stage down to our individual practices of self-branding and social networking, neoliberalism has transformed every aspect of our shared social life. The book explores the sources of neoliberalism's remarkable success and the roots of its current decline. Neoliberalism's appeal is its promise of freedom in the form of unfettered free choice. But that freedom is a trap: we have just enough freedom to be accountable for our failings, but not enough to create genuine change. If we choose rightly, we ratify our own exploitation. And if we choose wrongly, we are consigned to the outer darkness—and then demonized as the cause of social ills. By tracing the political and theological roots of the neoliberal concept of freedom, Adam Kotsko offers a fresh perspective, one that emphasizes the dynamics of race, gender, and sexuality. More than that, he accounts for the rise of right-wing populism, arguing that, far from breaking with the neoliberal model, it actually doubles down on neoliberalism's most destructive features. Trade Review"In all of the hubbub about neoliberalism, one often feels that there is not much more to say. Adam Kotsko's premise—that the devil and the neoliberal subject can only ever choose their own damnation—is as original as it is breathtaking. Everyone should read this book." -- James Martel * San Francisco State University *"It's been a long time since I've read something so acutely in tune with its political moment. Both wide-ranging and impressively concise, this book offers one of the most compelling critical analyses of neoliberalism I've yet encountered, understood holistically as an economic agenda, a moral vision, and a state mission." -- Peter Hallward * Kingston University London *"[An] important book....Useful to scholars and students in subfields ranging from philosophy of religion and theology to contingently grounded studies of the politics and law....Critical analysis here lays the grounds for constructive work, with Kotsko gesturing toward an as-yet-unknown eschatological future." -- Spencer Dew * Religious Studies Review *"Neoliberalism's Demons is a concise and persuasive account of the political, economic, and moral universe we inhabit, and is therefore essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand their own condition." -- Jonathan Megerian * New Books Network *Table of ContentsContents and Abstracts1The Political Theology of Late Capital chapter abstractThis chapter begins by recognizing that pairing neoliberalism and political theology is counterintuitive. On the one hand, most accounts of neoliberalism leave little room for the conventional themes of political theology. On the other hand, Schmitt's initial formulation of political theology denigrates the economic concerns that are ostensibly the sole concern of neoliberalism. Hence this chapter shows that the conventional themes of political theology emerge persistently in the existing accounts of neoliberalism and provides grounds in Schmitt's text for a broader vision of the field that could include a phenomenon like neoliberalism. This more general political theology would ask about attempts to answer the ultimately unanswerable question that is expressed theologically as the problem of evil and politically as the problem of legitimacy. The chapter concludes by sketching a political theology of neoliberalism centered on the core legitimating principle of freedom. 2The Political and the Economic chapter abstractThis chapter makes the case for overcoming political theology's traditional hostility toward the economic realm. Drawing on the work of Wendy Brown, Giorgio Agamben, and Dotan Leshem, it traces this binary opposition back to the work of Hannah Arendt, who famously opposes the two realms and privileges the political over the economic. It then argues that "Arendt's axiom" is false: there is no pregiven distinction between the political and the economic; in fact, each political theological paradigm—very much including neoliberalism—reconfigures that binary for its own ends. Along the way the chapter holds up a variety of examples of alternative approaches to the relation of the political and the economic, including those of Marie-José Mondzain, Mark C. Taylor, Philip Goodchild, Joshua Ramey, and Eric Santner. 3Neoliberalism's Demons chapter abstractThis chapter provides an account of neoliberalism as a political-theological paradigm that governs every sphere of social life—not just the state and the economy but religion, family structure, sexual practice, gender relations, and racialization—by means of a logic of demonization. Drawing a parallel between the shift to neoliberalism and the origins of capitalism, it argues that capitalist ideologues have tended to find common cause with reactionary Christians because both adhere to a worldview centered on divine providence, which is in turn inextricably intertwined with demonization as a logic of moral entrapment. The difference between neoliberalism and neoconservatism is more often one of degree than of kind, with the former leaving more room for redemption and the latter opting more often for total, irreversible demonization for subject populations. 4This Present Darkness chapter abstractThe political theological account of neoliberalism developed in the previous chapter serves as the basis for an investigation of the reactionary populist wave represented by the Brexit vote and the Trump presidency. Rather than attempt to directly answer the question of whether it makes sense to view these phenomena as betokening the "end" of neoliberalism, the chapter begins by asking what the advent of the reactionary wave tells us about the intrinsic vulnerabilities of neoliberalism, focusing on the areas of electoral legitimation, the politicization of expertise, and the vision of society as a perpetual competition. It concludes by arguing that reactionary populism is a "heretical" version of the political theology of neoliberalism, which pushes core neoliberal values to near-parodic extremes. Conclusion: After Neoliberalism chapter abstractThis chapter begins by consolidating the new concept of political theology developed in the preceding chapters. It then asks what the general shape of a true break with neoliberalism might look like, drawing clues from the collapse of the Fordist regime that preceded it. It argues that Fordism's downfall came from its decision to preserve and tame capitalist structures—including structures of race, gender relations, and family—which were intended to legitimate the Fordist regime but were ultimately instrumental in its downfall. Any attempt to rebuild Fordist welfare state structures or even state-run industries would be vulnerable to a similar overthrow as long as the market economy remained the foundation of society. Hence, the only way to create a durable alternative to neoliberalism will require abolishing the "invisible hand" and taking control of the process of production through conscious, collective deliberation and decision making.

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Book SynopsisBrilliant...explains how the rhetoric of competition has invaded almost every domain of our existence." —Evgeny Morozov, author of To Save Everything, Click Here" "In this fascinating book Davies inverts the conventional neoliberal practice of treating politics as if it were mere epiphenomenon of market theory, demonstrating that their version of economics is far better understood as the pursuit of politics by other means." —Professor Philip Mirowski, University of Notre Dame "A sparkling, original, and provocative analysis of neoliberalism. It offers a distinctive account of the diverse, sometimes contradictory, conventions and justifications that lend authority to the extension of the spirit of competitiveness to all spheres of social life…This book breaks new ground, offers new modes of critique, and points to post-neoliberal futures." —Professor Bob Jessop, University of Lancaster Since its intellectual inception in the 1930s and its political emergence in the 1970s, neo-liberalism has sought to disenchant politics by replacing it with economics. This agenda-setting text examines the efforts and failures of economic experts to make government and public life amenable to measurement, and to re-model society and state in terms of competition. In particular, it explores the practical use of economic techniques and conventions by policy-makers, politicians, regulators and judges and how these practices are being adapted to the perceived failings of the neoliberal model. By picking apart the defining contradiction that arises from the conflation of economics and politics, this book asks: to what extent can economics provide government legitimacy? Now with a new preface from the author and a foreword by Aditya Chakrabortty. Trade Review"Brilliant... explains how the rhetoric of competition has invaded almost every domain of our existence." -- Evgeny Morozov"In this fascinating book Davies inverts the conventional neoliberal practice of treating politics as if it were mere epiphenomenon of market theory, demonstrating that their version of economics is far better understood as the pursuit of politics by other means." -- Professor Philip Mirowski"A sparkling, original, and provocative analysis of neoliberalism. It offers a distinctive account of the diverse, sometimes contradictory, conventions and justifications that lend authority to the extension of the spirit of competitiveness to all spheres of social life…This book breaks new ground, offers new modes of critique, and points to post-neoliberal futures." -- Professor Bob JessopWilliam Davies has made a substantial contribution to the study of neoliberal doctrine and policy-making. The book is a must for those writing in any way on neoliberalism and not unnecessarily difficult in relation to the complex topic it charts. It clearly breaks new ground by shedding light on debates beyond the most famous neoliberal intellectuals, debates that not many critical scholars until recently have seriously engaged with. -- Johan PriesTable of ContentsThe Disenchantment of Politics: Neoliberalism, Sovereignty and Economics The Promise and Paradox of Competition: Markets, Competitive Agency and Authority The Liberal Spirit of Economics: Competition, Anti-Trust and the Chicago Critique of Law The Violent Threat of Management: Competitiveness, Strategy and the Audit of Political Decision Contingent Neoliberalism: Financial Crisis and beyond Afterword: Critique in and of Neoliberalism

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Book SynopsisA "superb" and "ambitious" (New York Times) intellectual and political history of the last century of American conservatism When most people think of modern conservatism, they think of Ronald Reagan. Yet this narrow view leaves many to question: How did Donald Trump win the presidency? And what is the future of the Republican Party? In The Right, Matthew Continetti gives a sweeping account of movement conservatism's evolution, from the Progressive Era through the present. He tells the story of how conservatism began as networks of intellectuals, developing and institutionalizing a vision that grew over time, only to see their creation buckle under new pressures from national populist movements. Drawing out the tensions between the desire for mainstream acceptance and the pull of extremism, Continetti argues that the more one studies conservatism's past, the more one becomes convinced of its future. Updated with a new epilogue, The Right is essential reading for anyone looking to understand American conservatism.

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Book SynopsisHow a notorious far right organization set the Republican Party on a long march toward extremismAt the height of the John Birch Society's activity in the 1960s, critics dismissed its members as a paranoid fringe. After all, "Birchers" believed that a vast communist conspiracy existed in America and posed an existential threat to Christianity, capitalism, and freedom. But as historian Matthew Dallek reveals, the Birch Society's extremism remade American conservatism. Most Birchers were white professionals who were radicalized as growing calls for racial and gender equality appeared to upend American life. Conservative leaders recognized that these affluent voters were needed to win elections, and for decades the GOP courted Birchers and their extremist successors. The far right steadily gained power, finally toppling the Republican establishment and electing Donald Trump.Birchers is a deeply researched and indispensable new account of the rise of extremism in the United States.

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Book SynopsisIn the fourth title in the Dissident American Thought Today Series, Chilton Williamson takes on liberalism and reveals the 'faith' of the present Democratic Party as its own cultivated version of absurdity. This 'advanced liberalism' is not the liberalism of Mill, and it certainly no longer is the thinking man's party. If it were once true that conservatism is unimaginative and reactionary, the contrary is the picture of our times. Liberalism now asserts that human nature can and must be perfected, but without reference to nature. The age of the expert has been thrust upon the United States with the urgency of technique to be applied to coerce the vision of a perfect society and perfect human beings. Williamson observes that this liberalism to nevertheless be collapsing, given the obvious opposition to the idea that it is essential to modernity. Liberalism is ironically a kind of unyielding control, "a relativist persuasion that discourages and resists fixed beliefs and certainties and the idea of truth itself." Williamson offers commentary on the present state of liberal ideas and their crimes against better judgment, and vindicates conservatism from being labeled reactionary. Liberalism is exposed as a faith we cannot accept, for it contains nothing to be believed and what it says about the order of things is pure fiction.

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Book SynopsisWhy do we always assume it was the New Right that was at the centre of constructing neoliberalism? How might corporatism have advanced neoliberalism? And, more controversially, were the trade unions only victims of neoliberal change, or did they play a more contradictory role? In How Labour Built Neoliberalism, Elizabeth Humphrys examines the role of the Labour Party and trade unions in constructing neoliberalism in Australia, and the implications of this for understanding neoliberalism's global advance. These questions are central to understanding the present condition of the labour movement and its prospects for the future.Trade Review"Humphry's brilliant How Labour Built Neoliberalism utterly transforms our understanding of modern Australian politics and compels us to rethink established ideas about the role of the trade union movement in the making of neoliberalism. I consider this to be a landmark work in Australian political sociology and an invaluable contribution to the literature on global neoliberalism."—Melinda Cooper, University of Sydney, Author of Family Values: Between Neoliberalism and the New Social Conservatism(2017, Zone Books)."In this fascinating book, Elizabeth Humphrys challenges the narrative that neo-liberalism was generally imposed onto labour by right-wing governments such as the Thatcher government in the UK and the Reagan government in the US during the 1980s. Through a detailed analysis of the Australian political economy between 1983 and 1996, she demonstrates how restructuring was also carried out by a Labour Party in close co-operation with trade unions.Written in a beautiful and highly accessible prose, she makes clear that trade unions are not automatically progressive or reactionary. Ultimately, trade unions too are sites of class struggle, which decides on whether a particular trade union is a force for social justice or not. Humphrys' book is a must-read in guiding our explorations of this question and the search for alternative, progressive strategies."— Andreas Bieler, Professor of Political Economy, University of Nottingham, UK"This is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the emergence of neoliberalism in Australia, or the contradictory role trade unions can play during an economic crisis."—Alfredo Saad-Filho, Professor of Political Economy, SOAS, University of London"How Labor Built Neoliberalism is a scholarly, erudite and persuasive account of Labor's neoliberal turn and of the Accords. It should be widely read by labour historians, political economists, unionists and Labor politicians."—Tim Lyons, Labour History Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsList of IllustrationsList of Abbreviations 1 Introduction 1 The ALP & ACTU Accord 2 The Social Contract's Gala Dinner 3 Neoliberalism's Corporatist Origins 4 A Hegemonic Political Project 5 Corporatist &' involucro' 6 A Note on Method 7 Structure of the Book 2 Theorising the State-Civil Society Relationship 1 Introduction 1.1 Some Preliminary Comments 2 Marx's Critique of Hegel 3 From Critique of Politics to Critique of Political Economy 4 From Marx to Gramsci 4.1 Lo stato integrale 5 Gramsci contra Marx? The Limits of Integration 6 Conclusion 3 Corporatism in Australia 1 Introduction 2 Understanding Corporatism 3 Panitch's Approach 4 Corporatism and the Accord 5 The Context of Arbitration 6 Conclusion 4 Destabilising the Dominant Narrative 1 Introduction 1.1 Conceptual Diversity 2 The Dominant Narrative 2.1 Harvey: A Brief History of Neoliberalism 2.2 Klein: The Shock Doctrine 2.3 Peck, Theodore, Tickell and Brenner: &'Neoliberalisation' 2.4 Destabilising the Dominant Narrative 3 A Class Approach to Neoliberalism 3.1 Harvey: &'The restoration of class power' 3.2 Davidson: &'An entirely new political regime' 3.3 A Hegemonic Political Project 4 Conclusion 5 Periodising Neoliberalism 1 Introduction 2 Periodising Neoliberalism in Australia 3 Proto-neoliberal stage: 1973-1983 3.1 The Economic Crisis 3.2 The Whitlam Government 3.3 The Fraser Government 4 Vanguard Neoliberal Stage: 1983-1993 4.1 The Impasse of the 1970s 4.2 Developing the Accord 5 Piecemeal Neoliberalisation Stage: 1993-2008 5.1 Howard's Piecemeal Neoliberalism 6 Crisis stage: 2008 Onwards 7 Conclusion 6 The Disorganisation of Labour 1 Introduction 2 The Accord Agreement 3 Wages and the Accord 3.1 The First Accord (1983) 3.2 Accord Mark II (1985-1987) 3.3 Accord Mark III (1986-1987) 3.4 Accord Mark IV (1988-1989), V (1989-1990) & VI (1990-1993) 3.5 Accord Mark VII (1993) & VIII (Draft Only) 4 Wage Suppression 4.1 Labour Disorganisation 5 Conclusion 7 An Integral State 1 Introduction 2 Accord Divergences 2.1 The National Economic Summit and Communiqué 2.2 Prices 2.3 &'Big bang' and Other Neoliberal Reforms 2.4 Trade Liberalisation 3 Privatisation 4 Social Wage and Contested Understandings 4.1 Medicare 4.2 Superannuation 4.3 Worth the Cost? 5 The Concord of Neoliberalism and the Accord 5.1 A Brace against Neoliberalism? 5.2 Theorising the Corporatism-Neoliberalism Connection 5.3 An &'informal Accord'? 5.4 The Accord as involucro 6 Conclusion 8 How Labour Made Neoliberalism 1 Introduction 2 From Worker Agency to State Agency 2.1 The Shift to Support the Accord 2.2 Planning as a Solution to Crisis? 2.3 Consultation on, and Support for, the Accord 2.4 Sticking with the Accord 2.5 Industry policy and Australia Reconstructed 3 Managing Dissent and Disorganising Labour 3.1 Civil Legal Action against Labour Disputes 3.2 Deregistration of the Builders Labourers' Federation 3.3 Pilots' Dispute 4 Enterprise Bargaining and the Antinomies of the Accord 4.1 Hegemony Unravelling 5 Conclusion 9 A Return to the International 1 Introduction 2 A Brief Detour in the Antipodes 3 The British Social Contract (1974-1979) 4 The Carter Administration (1977-1981) and Prior 5 New York City Council Fiscal Crisis (1975-1981) 6 Contemporary Finland 7 Conclusion 10 Conclusion: Neoliberalism at Dusk 1 Internal Relations 2 Antinomies and Residues 3 Neoliberalism at Dusk Appendices Appendix B: Timeline of Predecessors to the AMWU ReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisIn this fully updated edition of his coruscating polemic, Tariq Ali shows how, since 1989, politics has become a contest to see who can best serve the needs of the market. In this urgent and wide-ranging case for the prosecution, Ali looks at the people and the events that have informed this moment across the world. This reaches its logical conclusion with the presidency of Donald Trump, the success of En Marche in France and the dominance of Merkel's Germany through Europe.But are we starting to see cracks within the fabric of the extreme centre? In a series of new chapters Ali suggests that there is room for hope. He finds promise in developments in Latin America and at the edges of Europe. Emerging parties across Europe, Greece and Spain, formed out of the 2008 crisis, are offering new hope for democracy. In the UK, the rise of Jeremy Corbyn indicates that the hegemony of the centre may be weaker than imagined.Trade ReviewAli remains an outlier and intellectual bomb-thrower; an urbane, Oxford-educated polemicist * The Observer *It will not open doors at the White House because it makes for uncomfortable reading ... a wide-ranging and powerfully argued critique, that gives pause for thought * (in praise of The Obama Syndrome: Surrender at Home, War Abroad), Financial Times *Tariq Ali has not lost the passion and vim which made him a symbol of the spirit of '68 ... has not seen fit to join forces with the terminally cynical, or set up a graven god that can be accused of failing ... Ali has spent much of his life documenting America as the arsenal of counter-revolution. * Christopher Hitchens (in praise of Street-Fighting Years: An Autobiography of the Sixties), Observer *For years, left-wing critics have framed the debate. Angela Davis, Ruthie Gilmore, Marc Mauer and, more recently, Michelle Alexander gave us the terminology to speak about all this: the prison industrial complex, abolition, non-reform reform and The New Jim Crow.. [Ali's theorized term "extreme center"] provides us with a new language to describe our problems.[O]ne of the key tasks of the extreme center is to take center stage, to ensure that no alternative seems either reasonable or possible. * James Kilgore, author of Understanding Mass Incarceration: A People’s Guide to the Key Civil Rights Struggle of our Era, CounterPunch *

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Book SynopsisReacting against both the British Idealists and the logical positivists, Isaiah Berlin forged a new philosophy best described as post-Idealist. This philosophy was deeply informed by Kantian categories and methods, and conditioned by Vichian themes of historical and cultural variation. An advocate of pluralism without relativism, Berlin believed that it was possible to adopt and live by values, but he could not achieve moral certainty that our values are objectively preferable to all others. Like Collingwood and Oakeshott (and some neo-Kantians), Berlin believed that concepts matter and that they have a history; that human values are numerous and incommensurable; that rationalism in politics is dangerous; and that positivists’ hopes for rigorous social sciences are unrealistic. Interestingly, Collingwood and Oakeshott, both also candidates for post-Idealism, shared Berlin’s commitment to these themes. Ultimately, Berlin’s ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ is perhaps best perceived as a critique of Bradley’s Ethical Studies.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: The British Idealists Chapter 2: Collingwood & Oakeshott: Post-Idealists? Chapter 3: Concepts Matter: ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ and F. H. Bradley Chapter 4: Berlin and the History of Concepts Chapter 5: Berlin and Cultural Pluralism1 Chapter 6: Berlin vs. Rationalism Chapter 7: Berlin’s Philosophy of the Social Sciences Chapter 8: Critical Appraisals

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Book SynopsisCan you name the creator of the Territorial Army and the British Expeditionary Force? The man who laid the foundation stones of MI5, MI6, the RAF, the LSE, Imperial College, the ‘redbrick’ universities and the Medical Research Council? This book reveals that great figure: Richard Burdon Haldane. As a philosopher-statesman, his groundbreaking proposals on defence, education and government structure were astonishingly ahead of his time—the very building blocks of modern Britain. His networks ranged from Wilde to Einstein, Churchill to Carnegie, King to Kaiser; he pioneered cross-party, cross-sector cooperation. Yet in 1915 Haldane was ejected from the Liberal government, unjustly vilified as a German sympathiser. John Campbell charts these ups and downs, reveals Haldane’s intensely personal side through previously unpublished private correspondence, and shows his enormous relevance in our search for just societies today. Amidst political and national instability, it is time to reinstate Haldane as Britain’s outstanding example of true statesmanship. A Sunday Times Politics and Current Affairs Book of the Year, 2020. A Telegraph Best Book of the Year, 2020.Trade Review'An act of homage to a man for whom [Campbell] asserts lifelong admiration … [This is an] intelligent book.’ -- The Sunday Times'[Campbell] makes a persuasive case for his subject’s importance and, along the way, touches on larger questions of culture and governance … [With a] wealth of detail and insightful character sketches … [this is a] splendid portrait.’ -- The Wall Street JournalA work of real scholarship.’ -- The Telegraph‘Richly informed … [an] engaging biography.’ -- Financial Times‘[A] valuable book … the research has been done superlatively. … Anyone interested in political history who is unacquainted with Haldane will find this book illuminating and informative.’ -- The Spectator‘The author must be congratulated on shaking up the creaking cradle-to-grave style of conventional political biography. … Campbell has succeeded in his aim of writing a biography of Haldane which might serve as a handbook of leadership and statesmanship in this post-Brexit age.’ -- The Literary Review‘Well-researched and well-written.’ -- The Critic‘A noble undertaking that does much to revive the lamentably neglected legacy of one of Britain’s finest statesmen.’ -- The Irish Examiner‘[An] engaging biography … Campbell makes a good case that Haldane was a key catalyst in improving the effectiveness of certain aspects of the British state in the years either side of the first world war.’‘Excellent … [Haldane] is timely, well researched and reminds us what we owe to a great statesman.’ -- Reaction'There is something perennially fascinating about the sensitive polymath. John Campbell has written a magisterial biography of such a figure--an immensely readable account of an extraordinary life. This is, quite simply, a triumph of the art of conveying the texture of human affairs and the events of an era. It is a major and lasting achievement.' -- Alexander McCall Smith'A labour of love. Haldane is rescued from "the condescension of posterity", his achievement in war and peace is finally recognised, and his rightful place in history is secured.' -- Gordon Brown'An outstanding biography that will have Haldane recognised, at long last, as one of our very greatest twentieth-century statesmen.' -- Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former Secretary of State for Defence and Foreign Secretary'This captivating, ground-breaking book firmly re-establishes Lord Haldane in the national consciousness as a remarkable statesman of the early twentieth century. Many of his innovations are still flourishing today, and his thoughts on statecraft have much to teach our leaders.' -- Sir Anthony Seldon, British political biographer'My Grandfather found Haldane to be unfailingly kind and in particular supported him in 1915 when Haldane lost Office. This book brings Haldane marvellously to life, centre stage on the then political map of Britain. It not only remarkably tells Haldane's extraordinary and neglected story, but the exceptional images so cleverly illustrate his life and the turbulent times in which he lived. A must read.' -- The Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames'Impressively well-researched, wonderfully written and so obviously relevant to the present day.' -- Brendan Simms, Professor in the History of International Relations, University of Cambridge, and author of 'Britain's Europe: A Thousand Years of Conflict and Cooperation''We should thank John Campbell and we should thank Haldane. Haldane saw what our country needed and he quietly and brilliantly introduced those changes and creations, many of which are still with us. We in intelligence, and many others, are much indebted to Haldane. Mr Campbell tells us why.' -- Sir Colin McColl, former chief of MI6'Most politicians would view themselves as an outstanding success if only one of Haldane's reforms were credited to them. He transformed the British Army, brought into existence many of the great civic universities, and even proposed a Supreme Court 100 ahead of his time. John Campbell brings Haldane to the front of the political stage, where he belongs, and details well his supreme intellect and political method, which has so much to teach for today's politics.' -- The Rt Hon Frank Field DL, former MP'A welcome and enjoyable biography of a towering yet overlooked figure - Haldane was a transforming war minister, a visionary Lord Chancellor, a passionate supporter of education, and much more. Like the best biographies, this book casts revealing light on the times in which he lived.' -- The Rt Hon. The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, former President of the UK Supreme Court'A refreshing and compelling new biography of the leading philosopher-statesman of modern Britain. Haldane has had enormous influence, not least in re-organising the British Army to prevent a quick German victory in 1914, as well as in developing British education, the security services and the machinery of modern government.' -- Martin Pugh, former Professor of History, Newcastle University, and author of 'The Making of Modern British Politics''I wish I could have read this as my guidebook before taking on my Prime Ministerial duties, back in 2009. Now I can only hope that current and future leaders will use their chance to do so.' -- Gordon Bajnai, former Prime Minister of Hungary'An immensely readable, painstakingly researched biography of a little-known polymath statesman to whom Britain is more indebted than it knows. In this Who's Who of early-twentieth-century politics, Campbell delves deep into Haldane's complex and fascinating personality, in so many ways ahead of his time. He makes his hero our hero.' -- Sir Peter Westmacott GCMG LVO, former British Ambassador to Turkey, France and the United States'A meticulously researched life of Haldane which rightly defines him as the ultimate polymath. Haldane's multiple achievements are a lesson to today's politicians: that so much more can be achieved by reaching across party lines when searching for benign change. We have all forgotten how much our military, intelligence services, universities and research communities continue to benefit from Haldane’s impact, a century later. This work sets the record straight.' -- Sir David Cooksey GBE, Chair of the Francis Crick Institute'The debt the United Kingdom owes to Haldane is as great as to any other statesman of the first half of the twentieth century. John Campbell's immensely readable study reminds us of the achievements of this extraordinary public servant. Haldane's instinct to work constructively across the Party divide shows the importance of broad consensus in delivering lasting institutional reform. His search for long-term solutions to our country's needs has never seemed more apposite.' -- Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, former Leader of the House of Lords'A remarkably intimate story of an exceptional man who created the British Army of 1914. These carefully considered reforms, resolutely fought for by Haldane in 1907, saved the nation from defeat.' -- Major-General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter'A truly superb book. Not only is it a remarkable biography of an extraordinary life, it also provides important insights into Haldane's role in laying the foundations of the British university system. It traces how his education in Scotland and Germany moulded his beliefs about the purpose of life and the capacity of universities to inspire minds that contribute to the intellectual advancement and well-being of society. A profoundly humane account of one of Britain’s most enlightened and influential, yet insufficiently recognised, reformers of the twentieth century.' -- Colin Mayer CBE FBA, Peter Moores Professor of Management Studies, Said Business School, University of Oxford'The great sadness is that Richard Haldane was Chancellor of St Andrews, Scotland's first university, for only two months before he died in August 1928. In inviting him to fill this key governing role, St Andrews knew it was appointing one of the most powerful, subtle and encyclopaedic intellects ever devoted to the public service of his country. This great and long overdue book explains why St Andrews was so keen to make him one of its own.' -- Sir Ewan Brown CBE FRSE, former senior governor of the University of St Andrews‘Makes the case splendidly for Haldane’s achievements and his importance to this country … Anyone interested in British political history who is unacquainted with Haldane will find this book both illuminating and informative, a genuine revelation … Truly a lifetime’s dedicated work.’

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Book SynopsisIn this landmark book, Alexander Zevin looks at the development of modern liberalism by examining the long history of the Economist newspaper, which, since 1843, has been the most tireless - and internationally influential - champion of the liberal cause anywhere in the world.But what exactly is liberalism, and how has its message evolved?Liberalism at Large examines a political ideology on the move as it confronts the challenges that classical doctrine left unresolved: the rise of democracy, the expansion of empire, the ascendancy of high finance. Contact with such momentous forces was never going to leave the proponents of liberal values unchanged. Zevin holds a mirror to the politics - and personalities - of Economist editors past and present, from Victorian banker-essayists James Wilson and Walter Bagehot to latter-day eminences Bill Emmott and Zanny Minton Beddoes.Today, neither economic crisis at home nor permanent warfare abroad has dimmed the Economist's belief in unfettered markets, limited government, and a free hand for the West. Confidante to the powerful, emissary for the financial sector, portal onto international affairs, the bestselling newsweekly shapes the world its readers - as well as everyone else - inhabit. This is the first critical biography of one of the architects of a liberal world order now under increasing strain.Trade ReviewA highly-readable history of one of the world's most influential publications - and an important contribution to the history of political thought -- Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator * Financial Times *The Economist has vigorously claimed to be advancing the liberal cause since its founding. Zevin takes it at its word, telling the story not only of the magazine itself but also of its impact on world affairs. Having evidently mastered the magazine's archives, he commands a deep knowledge of its inner workings. The Economist emerges as a force that - thanks to the military, cultural and economic power of Britain and, later, America - can truly be said to have made the modern world, if not in the way that many liberals would suppose -- Pankaj Mishra * New Yorker *Sharp, engaging and deeply researched, Liberalism at Large reveals the profound contradictions at the heart of one of themost influential strands of liberalism - its supposed aversion to state power and consistent embrace of imperial might -- Jennifer Pitts, Professor of Political Science, University of ChicagoWritten with analytical rigour, narrative flair and formidably marshalled scepticism, Liberalism at Large is by some way the most ambitious and compelling history of a newspaper or magazine that I have read -- David Kynaston, author of The City of London and Modernity BritainLiberalism at Large has to be the most fascinating, and the best-written, engagement with the idea-that-nobody-ever-defines. Our understanding of liberalism, and of its historical and ideological power, is permanently changed, and immeasurably for the better -- Geoff Mann, author of In the Long Run We Are All DeadMuch more than a history of a single journal, Liberalism at Large gives us a compelling counter-history of key globalplayers, events and ideologies from imperialism and free trade to liberalism and neoliberalism. Absorbing and informative -- Priyamvada Gopal, author of Insurgent EmpireWhat a brilliant idea and what a brilliant book. Zevin offers a critical and nuanced account of the ever-changing liberalism promoted by the Economist -- Donald Sassoon, author of The Anxious TriumphMeticulous and beautifully written, Liberalism at Large should be read by anyone interested in "actually existing liberalism", in other words liberalism as it was conceived by the people who defined and promoted it, and not an idealized version based on some pre-determined canon of "great thinkers". Fascinating and often disturbing -- Helena Rosenblatt, author of The Lost History of LiberalismLiberalism at Large is...well-paced and engagingly written all the way through. The particular lens acts as a rather inspired way of looking at the history of Anglo-American capitalism. Zevin...is able to tell a fascinating story of [the Economist] and its relationship to the system it has championed for close to two hundred years now. * Counterfire *Well-written and well-organized, Zevin's book gives us fresh insight into the evolution of the doctrine of liberalism * Journal of European Economic History *

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Book SynopsisThe Fall and Rise of American Finance traces the collapse and reconstitution of American financial power from the disintegration of robber baron J. P. Morgan's vast empire to the rise of finance behemoth BlackRock. Contrary to what is taken for common sense by figures from Hillary Clinton to Bernie Sanders, Maher and Aquanno insist that financialization did not imply the hollowing out of the "real" economy or the retreat of the state. Rather, it served to intensify competitive discipline to maximize efficiency, profits, and the exploitation of labor-with the support of an increasingly authoritarian state.Trade ReviewWorthy heirs to their teacher, the great Leo Panitch, Maher and Aquanno sketch an alternative history of the last century that every critical scholar of finance must now engage and contend with. -- Quinn Slobodian, author of Crack-Up CapitalismA groundbreaking historical work with vital implications for theory and politics. The Fall and Rise of American Finance changes our vision of the present-and the future. -- Clara E. Mattei, author of The Capital Order Critical political economists tend to separate finance and 'the real economy,' seeing the former as parasitic on the latter. But what if finance has always been there and has always been the mechanism that disciplined capitalism as a whole? Maher and Aquanno explore this alternative reading of financialization. It is a compelling and convincing account. -- Mark Blyth, Professor of International Economics at Brown UniversityTable of ContentsPreface1: The Latest Phase of American Capitalist DevelopmentThe Fall and Rise of American FinanceA New Picture of FinancializationRethinking Finance and the Corporation2: Classical Finance Capital and the Modern StateFinancial Capital and Industrial CapitalFrom Bank Capital to Finance CapitalFinance Capital and CompetitionState Power, Class Power, and Crisis3: Managerialism and the New Deal StateRemaking Capitalist FinanceThe New Industrial OrderClass Struggle and the Crisis of Managerialism4: Neoliberalism and Financial HegemonyThe Financialization of the Non-Financial CorporationAsset-Based Accumulation and Market-Based FinanceFinancialization and Authoritarian StatismThe 2008 Crisis and the Question of Decline5: The New Finance Capital and the Risk StateCrisis Management and the Risk StateThe Rise of the Big ThreeThe New Finance CapitalPrivate Equity, Hedge Funds, and Finance Capital6: Crises, Contradictions, and PossibilitiesThe Statization of Market-Based FinanceThe Macroeconomic Policy of Finance CapitalThe False Promise of Universal OwnershipDemocratizing FinanceNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisWhat is the man who cannot be known apart from his socio-political environment? As Zbigniew Janowski asserts, one does not ask who this man is, for he does not even know himself. This man is suppressed and separated, and not by Fascism or Communism. In present-day America this has been accomplished by democracy. “Only someone shortsighted, or someone who values equality more than freedom, would deny that today’s citizens enjoy little or no freedom, particularly freedom of speech, and even less the ability to express openly or publicly the opinions that are not in conformity with what the majority considers acceptable at a given moment. It may sound paradoxical to contemporary ears, but a fight against totalitarianism must also mean a fight against the expansion of democracy.” Janowski all at once brazen and out of bounds states what he calls the obvious and unthinkable truth: In the United States, we are already living in a totalitarian reality. The American citizen, the Homo Americanus, is an ideological being who is no longer good or bad, reasonable or irrational, proper or improper except when measured against the objectives of the dominating egalitarian mentality that American democracy has successfully incubated. American democracy has done what other despotic regimes have likewise achieved––namely, taken hold of the individual and forced him to renounce (or forget) his greatness, pursuit of virtue and his orientation toward history and Tradition. Homo Americanus, Janowski argues, has no mind or soul and he cannot tolerate diversity and indeed he now censors himself. Democracy is not benign, and we should fear its principles come by and applied ad hoc. It is deeply troublesome that in the way democracy moves today it gives critics no real insight into any trajectory of reason behind its motion, which is erratic and unmappable. The Homo Americanus is an ideological entity whose thought and even morality are forbidden from universal abstraction. Janowski mounts the offensive against what the American holds most sacred, and he does so in order to save him. After exposing the danger and the damage done, Janowski makes another startling proposal. It is a “diseased collective mind” that is the source of this ideology, the liberal anti-perspective that presses man into the image of the Homo Americanus, and its grip can only be broken through the recovery of instinct. Homo Americanus cannot be free again until he is himself again. That is, until the shadow that belongs only to him is restored, and he is thereby no longer alienated from others. Despite the condemnation Janowski seems to be levying on the citizen of the United States, he betrays a great hope and confidence that the means to shake ourselves awake from the bad dream are nevertheless in hand. Janowski’s work is the next title in St. Augustine’s Press Dissident American Thought Today Series. It occupies a controversial overlapping terrain between the philosophical descriptions of liberalism as a tradition, psychology and the fundamentally influential critiques of democracy offered by Thucydides, Jefferson, Franklin, Tocqueville, Mill, Burke and more. More anecdotal than analytical, Janowski offers the contemporary proof that the reader is right to be scandalized by democracy and his or her own likeness of the Homo Americanus. Once upon a time it was the despicable Homo Sovieticus fruit of tyranny, but now we fear democratic society too might fall and all its citizens never be found again.

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Book SynopsisEverything we think we know about populism is wrong. Donald Trump. Brexit. European right-wing extremists. All have been accused of populism. But what does this often thrown about, yet generally misunderstood, term actually mean? The real story of populism is an account of enlightenment and liberation; the story of democracy itself, of its promise of a decent life for us all. Here, acclaimed political commentator Thomas Frank takes us from the emergence of the radical left-wing US Populist Party in the 1890s, through the triumphs of reformers under Roosevelt and Truman, to the present day, reminding us how much we owe to the populist ethos. He pummels the elites, revisits the movement’s provocative politics, and declares true populism to be the language of promise and optimism. People Without Power is a ringing affirmation of a movement that, Frank shows us, is not the problem of our times, but the solution.Trade Review‘With his usual verve, Frank skewers the elite voices of condescension that vilify the egalitarian and democratic strivings of working people. In so doing, he offers a passionate defense of populism, which he reveals as a deep and wide political tradition that remains as essential as ever for the hopes of a more just and equitable society.’ -- Charles Postel, author of Equality: an American dilemma, 1866–1896‘Political commentator Frank (Rendezvous with Oblivion) urges liberals to reclaim ‘the high ground of populism’ in this fervent and acerbically witty call to action … Frank blends diligent research with well-placed snark to keep readers turning the pages. Liberals will be outraged, enlightened, and entertained.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘The author of What’s the Matter with Kansas? returns with a study of populism … [H]e argues that historically populism has been focused on expanding opportunities for all, and he sees anti-populist sentiment today as being anti-working class. That will stir debate.’ * Library Journal *‘A provocative new book that encompasses historical analysis as well as the present.’ -- Dan Shaw * Happy Magazine *‘Brilliantly written, eye-opening … From 1891 to the rise of Trumpism, Frank walks readers through a minefield of assumptions about populism’s nature and history … Throughout People Without Power, Frank takes pains to look at populism through a broad lens … His reflection on how the jeans-clad Jimmy Carter wrapped himself in populism to avoid being tagged as a socialist, liberal or conservative is spot-on.’ -- Douglas Brinkley * The Washington Post *‘Anyone looking for a compact, highly readable history of the American political movement known as populism, and the determined efforts from both right and left to squelch it, will enjoy prominent progressive journalist Thomas Frank’s People Without Power … Credit goes to Frank for this admirable effort to reclaim the noblest parts of the populist legacy and make them relevant for contemporary Americans.’ -- Harvey Freedenberg * BookPage *‘[A] sprightly crafted survey of populist philosophy over the past century as it contends with more established political forces that have considered its ideas to be backwards and undemocratic … A valuable history of an important political tradition, and what it means for the future.’ -- Ed Goedeken * Library Journal *‘[A] fervent and acerbically witty call to action … Frank blends diligent research with well-placed snark to keep readers turning the pages. Liberals will be outraged, enlightened, and entertained.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘Rarely do I encounter progressive tracts that I enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed this book … [Takes] aim at the myth of ‘populism’ … Frank has once again written an important book, that leftists everywhere should read in order or understand the moment in which they live.’ -- Anthony Skews * Medium *Praise for Rendezvous with Oblivion: ‘Frank’s combination of insightful analysis, moral passion, and keen satirical wit make these essays both entertaining and an important commentary on the times.’ * Publishers Weekly *Praise for Listen, Liberal: ‘An astute dissection of contemporary Democratic politics that demonstrates, cogently and at times acidly, how the party lost the allegiance of blue-collar Americans.’ * Publishers Weekly *Praise for The Wrecking Crew: ‘A no-holds-barred exegesis on the naked cynicism of conservatism in America.’ STARRED REVIEW * Kirkus Reviews *Praise for Pity the Billionaire: ‘Frank's wit is as sharp as ever, and his eye for detail and his ability to capture a scene reminded me of reading zoologist Dian Fossey on a group of strange political primates.’ * The Washington Post *Praise for What’s the Matter with Kansas?: ‘Very funny and very painful … Add another literary gold star after Thomas Frank's name.’‘Frank unspools a spirited sociocultural history and historiography of populism … His prose is a joy.’ -- Stephen Phillips * The Irish Times *‘Frank describes an indigenous radical tradition that descends from Jefferson and Paine and stretches forward to Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr … Compelling.’ * The New York Times Book Review *‘Rousing … central to the challenge of our times … A call to arms against the plutocratic elites of both America’s main parties … Frank’s real strength lies in his energetic optimism.’ * Financial Times *‘Tom Frank does what few writers today are capable of doing — he criticises his own side.’ * Wall Street Journal *‘Deserves your attention … sees through the sides in today’s acrimonious debate on populism … The People Without Power describes meticulously how over the last 120 years, reigning elites — whether conservative, liberal, or progressive — have regularly attacked populists with the same falsehoods … It shows us that the arguments that pass for wisdom and enlightenment in some circles are really a simple rehashing of old falsehoods.’ -- Milton Ezrati * Forbes *‘A terrific book … damning … eloquently-argued . . . The People Without Power documents the furious elite propaganda response to bottom-up political movements that has recurred in uncannily similar fashion at key moments across nearly a century and a half of American history, and is firing with particular venom today.’ -- Matt Taibbi, journalist and author of Insane Clown President and Hate Inc.‘Brilliant … grand … an urgent plea to liberals and radicals alike to embrace a left populism and universalism — or keep on losing.’ * Jacobin *‘An illuminating book, the best one I've read about the sound and fury of America’s 2020 election campaign.’ -- Lewis H. Lapham, former editor of Harper’s Magazine, founder of Lapham’s Quarterly, and author of Age of Folly‘A real contribution … Frank looks forward to the day when the “liberal” elite and right-leaning populists exhaust themselves — and the Democratic Party reclaims its identity as the voice of workers.’ * City Journal *‘Smart … Thomas Frank is one of the few great American political writers, and his new book The People Without Power is one of his best, if not his most urgent and pressing … We need more Thomas Franks.’ * Splice Today *‘Provocative … powerful … Frank has delivered a defiant challenge to the antipopulist liberals more infatuated with the advice of experts and their own moral virtues than mobilising ordinary Americans on the basis of progressive values.’ * The Progressive *‘Frank brilliantly places populism in the context of seminal historic events … His provocative conclusions, about elites and the people, turn common assumptions upside down — all the better for making readers think.’ * Booklist, starred review *

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Book SynopsisThis is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on Oxford Academic and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.Across Europe, people are deeply concerned about the state of democracy. The Rise and Fall of the People''s Parties shifts the attention away from ever-changing populist politicians that capture newspaper headlines to the centre-left and centre-right people''s parties that used to buttress the democratic order over the past decades, but which are now in steep decline. Why does the crisis of these parties contribute so profoundly to today''s crisis of democracy? And why were these parties so important for the stabilization and legitimation of democracy in the past century in the first place?By providing a long-term and transnational account of the history of democracy in modern Europe, The Rise and Fall of the People''s Parties reveals the striking parallels between the hist

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Book SynopsisThat government is best which governs least. -- Henry David Thoreau In this major new defense of libertarianism, Dan Moller argues that critics and supporters alike have neglected the strongest arguments for the theory. It is often assumed that libertarianism depends on thinking that property rights are absolute, or on fetishizing individual liberty. Moller argues that, on the contrary, the foundations of libertarianism lie in widely shared, everyday moral beliefs -- particularly in restrictions on shifting our burdens onto others. The core of libertarianism, on this New England interpretation, is not an exaggerated sense of our rights against other people, but modesty about what we can demand from them. Moller then connects these philosophical arguments with related work in economics, history, and politics. The result is a wide-ranging discussion in the classical liberal tradition that defies narrow academic specialization. Among the questions Moller addresses are how to think aboutTrade ReviewThis is a masterful work. It may even be a masterpiece. It does everything and does it well. It should be read right up alongside Rawls's theory of justice, and if this books fails to radically change the conversation in political philosophy, that would amount to a condemnation of the field, not the book. Moller has produced a comprehensive defense of classical liberal thought, one that deftly integrates ideas from ethics, political theory, metaethics, epistemology, metaphysics, sociology, economics, and history. He understands the critics' arguments better than they do, and has powerful and often decisive answers to all of their concerns. The book defends classical liberal ideas, but it is not ideological. Orthodox libertarians will find plenty of deep and difficult challenges to their own positions ... This is a great and important book. * Jason Brennan, Georgetown University, *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Property Part II: Markets Part III: History Part IV: Theory and Practice Appendices Appendix A: Utilitarianism as Self-deception Appendix B: Victim-blaming and Moral Modus Tollens Works Cited

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Book SynopsisIn this Very Short Introduction, Michael Freeden explores the concept of liberalism, one of the longest-standing and central political theories and ideologies. Combining a variety of approaches, he distinguishes between liberalism as a political movement, as a system of ideas, and as a series of ethical and philosophical principles.Trade ReviewIt is hard to imagine a better introduction to liberalism than Freedan's short book and, like all outstanding introductions, it has a lot to offer to those who don't think they really need one. * Journal of Liberal History *There is much more to ponder over and learn in this slim volume - one of the latest installments in this portable but informative series dwelling on almost every facet of the human condition and the universe - from accounting to laws of thermodynatics, from plants to planets and from Alexander the Great to Nelson Mandela. * Millennium Post *Table of Contents1. A house of many mansions ; 2. The liberal narrative ; 3. Layers of liberalism ; 4. The morphology of liberalism ; 5. The liberal canon ; 6. Philosophical liberalism: Idealizing justice ; 7. Misappropriations, reformulations, disparagements and lapses ; References ; Further reading

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Book SynopsisThis text consists of critical analysis of four 20th-century liberal and postliberal thinkers: John Dewey, John Rawls, Richard Rorty and Stanley Fish. The author focuses on the theorists' approach to religion and draws conclusions that challenge the very basis of constitutional government.

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Book SynopsisIn this study of democracy and its critics, the author debunks liberalism, arguing that its exaggerated ideals of authenticity, unity and community have deflected attention from the pervasive incompetence of the rule of experts. Instead, it emphasizes common interests rather than narrow disputes.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: The Yankee Way to Knowledge Pt. I: The Public and Its Problems: One More Time 1: Authenticity and the Rhetoric of Trauma 2: Romancing the Gesellschaft: Community and the Fallacy of Common Ground 3: Commensuration and Unificationism 4: Foucault's Trap 5: Pluralism, the Public, and the Problem of Knowledge 6: Democracy in America: A Thought Experiment Pt. II: Discourse across Differences 7: Epistemics 8: The Uses of Argument Fields 9: Fields as Organizations 10: A Theory of Presumption 11: Desperately Seeking Dewey 12: Epilogue: A Rhetoric for Modern Democracy Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAs illiberal and authoritarian trends are on the riseboth in fragile and seemingly robust democraciesthere is growing concern about the longevity of liberalism and democracy. The purpose of this volume is to draw on the analytical resources of various disciplines and public policy approaches to reflect on the current standing of liberal democracy. Leading social scientists from different disciplinary backgrounds aim to examine the ideological and structural roots of the current crisis of liberal democracies, in the West and beyond, conceptually and empirically.The volume is divided into two main parts: Part I explores tensions between liberalism and democracy in a longer-term, historical perspective to explain immanent vulnerabilities of liberal democracy. Authors examine the conceptual foundations of Western liberal democracy that have shaped its standing in the contemporary world. What lies at the core of illiberal tendencies? Part II explores cTrade Review'This rich book is an act of guardianship. Filled with fascinating and incisive essays, it probes the recrudescence of anti-liberal and non-liberal regimes that often claim to be excellent democracies, better than the liberal variant. For those of us wishing to secure the rule of law and individual and public rights, political liberalism's hallmarks, there is no more vexing challenge.' Ira I. Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University 'In presenting a multiplicity of perspectives on the broad and timely issue of illiberal democracy, Illiberalism fills a major gap in current scholarly literature. Examining the rise of illiberal politics from numerous angles, this volume will provide an excellent foundation for readers seeking to understand contemporary political conditions.' Phillip W. Gray, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University at Qatar "This rich book is an act of guardianship. Filled with fascinating and incisive essays, it probes the recrudescence of anti-liberal and non-liberal regimes that often claim to be excellent democracies, better than the liberal variant. For those of us wishing to secure the rule of law and individual and public rights, political liberalism's hallmarks, there is no more vexing challenge." Ira I. Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University "In presenting a multiplicity of perspectives on the broad and timely issue of illiberal democracy, The Emergence of Illiberalism fills a major gap in current scholarly literature. Examining the rise of illiberal politics from numerous angles, this volume will provide an excellent foundation for readers seeking to understand contemporary political conditions." Phillip W. Gray, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University at Qatar Table of ContentsPart 1: Democracy, Contested: Causes of Illiberalism 1. From a Politics of No Alternative to a Politics of Fear 2. What does a Legitimation Crisis Mean Today? 3. Illiberal Democracy and the Struggle on the Right 4. Illiberal Democracy? A Tocquevillian Perspective 5. The Open Society from a Conservative Perspective 6. The Failing Technocratic Prejudice and the Challenge to Liberal Democracy Part 2: Democracy, Distorted: Cases of Illiberalism 7. Global Trumpism: Understanding Anti-System Politics in Western Democracies 8. The Crisis of Democracy: The United States in Perspective 9. The European Union and Its Chances for Democratic Revitalization 10. Eastern Europe’s Illiberal Revolution 11. Illiberal Democracy or Electoral Autocracy: The Case of Turkey 12. India’s Unofficial Emergency 13. Japan: Land of the Rising Right 14. "It’s all corrupt": The Roots of Bolsonarism in Brazil Part 3: Epilogue: Persevering through a Crisis of Conviction 15. Populism and Democracy: The Long View

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An elegant and penetrating conception of the nature of political philosophy."---Lewis Ross, Journal of Moral Philosophy"A terrific achievement that will be of lasting benefit.—Thom Brooks, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"

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Book SynopsisThis extended essay by one of the world''s leading historians seeks, in its first part, to excavate and to vindicate, the neo-Roman theory of free citizens and free states as it developed in early modern Britain. This analysis leads on to a powerful defence of the nature, purposes and goals of intellectual history and the history of ideas. As Quentin Skinner says, ''the intellectual historian can help us to appreciate how far the values embodied in our present way of life, and our present ways of thinking about those values, reflect a series of choices made at different times between different possible worlds''. This essay provides one of the most substantial statements yet made about the importance, relevance and potential excitement of this form of historical enquiry. Liberty before Liberalism is based on Quentin Skinner''s Inaugural Lecture as Regius Professor of Modern History in the University of Cambridge, delivered in 1997.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. The neo-Roman theory of free states; 2. Free states and individual liberty; 3. Freedom and the historian; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisLiberalism is a critically important topic in the contemporary world as liberal values and institutions are in retreat in countries where they seemed relatively secure. Lucidly written and accessible, this book offers an important yet neglected Russian aspect to the history of political liberalism. Vanessa Rampton examines Russian engagement with liberal ideas during Russia''s long nineteenth century, focusing on the high point of Russian liberalism from 1900 to 1914. It was then that a self-consciously liberal movement took shape, followed by the founding of the country''s first liberal (Constitutional-Democratic or Kadet) party in 1905. For a brief, revelatory period, some Russians - an eclectic group of academics, politicians and public figures - drew on liberal ideas of Western origin to articulate a distinctively Russian liberal philosophy, shape their country''s political landscape, and were themselves partly responsible for the tragic experience of 1905.Trade Review'Historian of ideas Rampton (McGill Univ.) has written a book that provides a surprisingly clear and cogent introduction to liberal ideas and writing in the final third of the Romanov dynasty.' J. C. Sandstrom, Choice'… the book contains much fascinating detail that tells us a great deal about intellectual culture in turn-of-the-century Russia, and as such, I would consider the book to be a … rewarding read.' Stefan Kirmse, H-Soz-KultTable of ContentsIntroduction: conceptions of liberalism in Imperial Russia; 1. Inside out: freedom, rights and the idea of progress in nineteenth-century Russia; 2. Progress, contested: positivist and neo-idealist liberalism; 3. Freedom, differently: liberalism in 1905 and its aftermath; 4. Liberalism undone: the loss of cohesion on the eve of 1917; 5. Conversations with Western ideas I: conflict between values; 6. Conversations with Western ideas II: progress and freedom; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisWhat did democracy mean before liberalism? What are the consequences for our lives today? Combining history with political theory, this book restores the core meaning of democracy as collective and limited self-government by citizens. That, rather than majority tyranny, is what democracy meant in ancient Athens, before liberalism. Participatory self-government is the basis of political practice in ''Demopolis'', a hypothetical modern state powerfully imagined by award-winning historian and political scientist Josiah Ober. Demopolis'' residents aim to establish a secure, prosperous, and non-tyrannical community, where citizens govern as a collective, both directly and through representatives, and willingly assume the costs of self-government because doing so benefits them, both as a group and individually. Basic democracy, as exemplified in real Athens and imagined Demopolis, can provide a stable foundation for a liberal state. It also offers a possible way forward for religious societiTrade Review'Demopolis is Josiah Ober's long-awaited case for the intrinsic value of democracy, not liberal democracy, but democracy simply, the project of collective self-governance. Ober provides a clear and clarifying analytical framework for understanding democracy itself, prior to or apart from its admixture with liberalism. The result is not merely a powerful work in political philosophy but also a compelling argument for the human value of dignitarian democracy: forms of self-rule defined and constrained by the value of human dignity. This book is a masterpiece.' Danielle Allen, Harvard University, Massachusetts'There is no better guide than Joshiah Ober to Athenian democracy, and now, also to its significance for understanding the value of democracy today, even where modern liberal rights and values may not exist. This book combines history and theory in a political tour de force.' Melissa Lane, Princeton University, New Jersey'Demopolis is a tightly reasoned work of scholarship … Mr Ober is an excellent writer and his argument is worth the effort. He believes today's liberals, following the political philosopher John Rawls, conflate liberalism and democracy in ways that make it difficult to assess one without the other.' Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal'Ober concludes that basic democracy might form an alternative foundation in light of current challenges to liberalism, such as populist nationalism. This conclusion will not convince all, but Ober's work is thorough and thought-provoking. Highly Recommended.' J. Heyrman, ChoiceTable of ContentsList of figures and tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; Note on the text; 1. Basic democracy; 2. The meaning of democracy in classical Athens; 3. Founding Demopolis; 4. Legitimacy and civic education; 5. Human capacities and civic participation; 6. Civic dignity and other necessary conditions; 7. Delegation and expertise; 8. A theory of democracy; Epilogue. Democracy after liberalism; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines Emmanuel Macron's political career from his rise as a public figure to his time as a president. By offering a close study of his actions and ideological commitment, this book argues that, despite claims of being ideologically neutral, Macron actually represents a new form of right-wing politics in France.

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Book SynopsisSenator Joseph Lieberman offers a master class in effective government by probing his forty years in elective office—from the Vietnam War era to the Presidency of Barack Obama—and by shining a light on historic acts of centrism and compromise, extracting productive and problem-solving lessons and techniques we need now more than ever. In this era of extremism, our largest problems remain unsolved and our international leadership is compromised. Having two fiercely opposed political parties is what John Adams, the second President of the United States, dreaded “as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.” If American government is to work, it must do so in the center—where open discussion, hard negotiation, and effective compromise take place. No living politician knows this better than former Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, who served for forty years in state and national government, including twenty-four in the United States Senate and a campaign for the Vice Presidency. In this vivid account of his political life, Senator Lieberman shows how legislative progress and all-inclusive government occurs when politicians reject extremism and embrace productive compromise. In The Centrist Solution, he shines a light on ten milestones of centrist success during his time in government—from the Clean Air Act of 1990 and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the repeal of the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, along with a Vice Presidential run with Presidential Candidate Al Gore, and being vetted by John McCain to be his potential running mate on the 2008 Republican Ticket. In the telling, Senator Lieberman extracts clear lessons and proven methods of centrist collaboration that can carry us forward after years of partisan warfare and legislative inaction. The centrist solution leads to government truly of the people, by the people, and for the people—a citizenry looking for solutions, not extremist standoffs.Trade Review“For a playbook on effective, problem-solving government, look no further than The Centrist Solution. Joe Lieberman tells the story of never giving up while working across the aisle to find principled, bipartisan solutions. An essential read about effective government for every current and future public servant, and for all American citizens.”—Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) “I watched Joe Lieberman’s efforts to reach across party lines to lead legislative success. The Centrist Solution is a riveting narrative of historic governance and a crucial guide to problem-solving politics, a book America needs now more than ever.”—Harry Reid, former Senator (D-Nevada) and Senate Majority and Minority Leader “As a gateway to finding common cause on important issues affecting our country, serving the national interest is something my husband John McCain and my friend Joe Lieberman worked on together. I’ve seen few people more bravely, strategically, and effectively put his country ahead of his political interests than Joe. The Centrist Solution unpacks our recent history’s milestones in bipartisan governance and offers them as a beacon to light a path past gridlock to real progress.”—Cindy McCain, author of Stronger: Courage, Hope & Humor in My Life with John McCain “My former Senate colleague and dear friend, Joe Lieberman, brings readers under the hood with him during a career when he worked with like-minded Senators to make the Washington, DC, engine actually run. A valuable read for every American, particularly members of Congress.”—Chris Dodd, former Senator (D-Connecticut) “Senator Joe Lieberman is America’s most noteworthy centrist whose brilliant career has set the standard for problem-solving over political dysfunction. The wisdom offered in this magnificently-timed book serves as a reminder of history’s powerful examples of bipartisanship, almost completely forgotten in today’s environment of ever-changing party dogma and misplaced priorities.”—Jon Huntsman, former Governor of Utah (R) and US Ambassador “The Centrist Solution is a fascinating political memoir. But it is much more—a sustained argument in favor of a politics of cooperation across party lines that is sadly out of fashion. Joe Lieberman has done as much as any American to sustain and restore this politics, which we need more than ever.”—William Galston, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution “The Centrist Solution eloquently conveys the essential philosophy of one of the most thoughtful, principled, and effective lawmakers to serve our country in recent years. At a moment when Democrats and Republicans are mired in partisan gridlock, Senator Lieberman makes a persuasive and urgent case for how Washington can get moving again.”—General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA “I witnessed Joe Lieberman’s skill during my years with him in the Senate, and if we want to end government gridlock, we must heed the lessons he offers in The Centrist Solution—strategic negotiation across party lines that is actually productive.”—Dan Coats, former Senator (R-Indiana) and Director of National Intelligence

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Book SynopsisThe Dead Center takes an acerbic and often ribald eye to contemporary politics, particularly those of mainstream liberals in the United States. Combining engaging polemic and serious intellectual analysis, it offers a timely portrait of a political landscape sullied by an already ineffectual Biden administration, the marginalization of forces around Bernie Sanders and the ominous shadow of Donald Trump in the wings. In these pages Jacobin staff writer Luke Savage exposes the hollowness and futility of the liberal project in the 21st century, offering searing critiques of some of its leading figures, notably Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau, and touching on topics that extend over the milquetoast politics of the Biden presidency, Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, the monopolists of Silicon Valley, and the worst excesses of cable news punditry. Always deeply informed, often on the basis of direct personal experience, Savage’s book also explores the recent trajectory of younger people away from the liberal mainstream and towards the socialist left.Trade Review“If you have appreciated Luke Savage's work… as much as I have, then you must pick up a copy of this book. Luke brings a smart, informed, critical perspective to bear on the crisis of American democratic life and the continuing class war from above against the democratic achievements of generations.”— Harvey J. Kaye, Professor Emeritus of Democracy & Justice Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay and author of Thomas Paine and the Promise of America “Sardonic and hilarious, The Dead Center contains some of the best political, media, and cultural criticism I’ve read in some time. It’s clear-eyed about the immensely powerful forces working against progress and the working-class. It left me feeling both angrier about liberalism’s failures and more hopeful. This is a book that understands the past, present, and future of left politics as well as any I’ve read.” — Alex Shephard, The New Republic “Luke Savage is one of the contemporary left’s finest writers and one of liberalism’s most astute and merciless critics. These qualities converge in The Dead Center, which catalogues twenty-first century liberalism’s worst embarrassments and darkest betrayals. This entertaining and timely book will unsettle political moderates — and, more importantly, provide ample reinforcement for a rising generation of leftists intent on challenging them.” — Meagan Day, Associate Editor, Jacobin “Liberalism, we know, is in crisis, and few people are better at dissecting the tensions of contemporary liberalism than Luke Savage… Savage illuminates the contradictions and blindspots that have made modern liberalism so ill-suited to solving the problems that bedevil the present moment. A must-read for anyone of any ideological persuasion interested in better understanding our age and its pathologies.” — Daniel Bessner, Joff Hanauer Honors Associate Professor, University of Washington “Everyone should read this book. Luke Savage is a perceptive thinker and a lively and entertaining writer, and skewering centrist liberalism is what he does best. The socialist left is lucky to have him.” — Ben Burgis, author of Christopher Hitchens: What He Got Right, How He Went Wrong, and Why He Still Matters “It’s more than a little infuriating that one of the most clear-eyed and insightful writers on American politics is Canadian, but I suppose that’s just a sign of the times we live in.”— Josh Olson, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, co-host of The West Wing ThingTable of Contents Introduction: The Dead Center A Note to the Reader Part I: Salvos Liberalism in Theory and Practice Why Liberals Pretend They Have No Power David Brooks’ Capitalist Fatalism What Canada Can Teach Us About Liberals Everywhere Part II: Bipartisan Bromides The Curse of Bipartisanship Liberalism’s Veil of Ignorance 2004 Redux How Liberals Fell in Love with The West Wing The Never Trump Delusion Part III: Dramatis Personae The Fraudulent Universalism of Barack Obama—co-authored with Nathan J. Robinson Justin Trudeau and the Politics of Spectacle Fear and LARPing on the Campaign Trail Farewell to Betomania Why The Pundit Class Loves Amy Klobuchar| Variations in B-Flat Minor Keir Starmer and the Genealogy of Centrist Non-Belief Joe Biden Is Not a Radical Part IV: On the Media Manufacturing Consent, One Chyron at a Time The Agony and the Ecstasy of Chris Matthews All the President’s Tweets Erasing the Working Class James Carville Will Never Stop Being Wrong The Progressive Era That Wasn’t Part V: All That’s Solid… Savory Snacks for Social Justice The British Monarchy Will Not Survive Late Capitalism Barons of the Valley From New Deal to Nudge Neoliberalism? Never Heard of It. Acknowledgements Endnotes About the Author

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Book SynopsisDrawing on detailed archival research on the parallel histories of human rights and neoliberalism, Jessica Whyte uncovers the place of human rights in neoliberal attempts to develop a moral framework for a market society. In the wake of the Second World War, neoliberals saw demands for new rights to social welfare and self-determination as threats to "civilisation". Yet, rather than rejecting rights, they developed a distinctive account of human rights as tools to depoliticise civil society, protect private investments and shape liberal subjects.Trade ReviewAmong the most brilliant and implacable younger intellectuals working today, Jessica Whyte has turned in a masterful and thrilling account of how neoliberals faced down and helped remake human rights for our time. With its intrepid documentation of how Friedrich Hayek and his fellows engaged with the annunciation of human rights in the 1940s, and its fascinating wealth of evidence about how deeply neoliberal assumptions about markets and nations affected the rise of humanitarian advocacy in the 1970s, The Morals of the Market is a fundamental challenge that no one can avoid. -- Samuel Moyn, author of Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal WorldWe now know that neoliberals preached less the retreat of state and supranational institutions than their refashioning. What we did not know, and what Jessica Whyte teaches us in her propulsive and probing book, is how central a rethinking of human rights was to the neoliberal project. In her genealogy of market morality, Whyte offers the best history yet of how neoliberals put hierarchical ideas of civilization and race at the heart of their thought from its origins, and how they constructed their version of human rights as a barricade and battering ram against political projects premised on human equality and economic justice. -- Quinn Slobodian, Wellesley CollegeThis beautifully written book combines historical inquiry, theoretical rigor, and archival research to explore the complicated relationship between neoliberal market morals, imperialism, and human rights politics in the twentieth-century. Whyte's astonishingly original argument cuts through neoliberal deflection like a scythe offering us insights into human rights essential to imagining a better political future. -- Jeanne Morefield, University of BirminghamIn this masterful book, Jessica Whyte explodes the common myth that neoliberalism and human rights are independent and incompatible projects. From the economists of the Mont Pèlerin Society to the humanitarians who founded Doctors without Borders, Whyte reveals a sometimes shocking covert history of the hijacking of human rights by neoliberal thinkers who recoded human liberty and dignity as the products of submission to a 'free market' and promoted inequality as a social good. The Morals of the Market is provocative, sobering, and indispensable reading for understanding how we find ourselves in our current state of rotten affairs. -- Joseph Slaughter, author of Human Rights, Inc.Jessica Whyte's new book provides a thorough, devastating and utterly convincing demonstration of the way neoliberal economists and thinkers hijacked once-revolutionary concepts of universal human rights, and turned them into weapons to be used against emancipatory and anti-colonial political projects all over the world. The full moral and political price of our abject surrender to 'market necessities' has never been so clearly calculated; anyone who reads this book will see that it's high time we stopped paying it. -- Peter Hallward, author of The Will of the People and the Struggle for Popular Sovereignty[An] illuminating new book. -- Neve Gordon * Los Angeles Review of Books *Beautifully written, theoretically sophisticated, and excoriating all at the same time. -- Jeanne Morefield * Jacobin *A compelling, rigorous, deep and passionate study of the morals underpinning human rights and neo-liberal markets -- Martin Arias-Loyola, Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile * International Affairs *Perhaps the best book on the subject yet (...) a veritable treasure trove of riches (...) The Morals of the Market will be read and discussed for many years to come because Whyte has produced a rare work which makes interdisciplinary history and philosophy look not only easy, but necessary. -- Matthew McManus, Whitman College * Human Rights Review *A brilliant new book (...) Engrossing and comprehensively researched, The Morals of the Market sparkles with erudite engagements across modern political theory that contextualises neoliberal thought. -- Ben Huf * Australian Book Review *A timely contribution to a field that, at least to some, could be facing its twilight. If we are to dislodge human rights of its condition of fellow travellers, it is important to maintain Whyte's critical approach -- Daniel Pinheiro Astone, Stockholm University * Social and Legal Studies *Whyte sets out to tell the 'story of how neoliberal thinkers made human rights the morals of the market'. On this score Whyte succeeds admirably: through a thorough, well-written, and cogent account of the work of the Mont Pèlerin Society (MPS) and how its leading lights articulated a specifically moral account of the virtues of 'free' markets to embed and defend their civilizational ideals. -- Paul O’Connell, SOAS * Legal Form *Jessica Whyte's new book, The Morals of the Market, demonstrates the kind of scholarship we all aspire to: insightful, thought-provoking, and, above all, accessible and engaging (...) a powerful narrative about how neoliberalism and human rights spread in tandem in a mutually constitutive fashion, implanting capitalist social relations across the world, and how human rights were instrumental in crashing alternative political projects, most notably welfarism and third world aspirations for global economic redistribution -- Eva Nanopoulos, QMUL * Legal Form *What precisely is the relation between neoliberalism and human rights? Jessica Whyte's elegant Morals of the Market tackles this question directly, skillfully, and insightfully (...) Morals of the Market is an excellent book, all the more so for its clarity and its combination of panoramic synthesis and issue-specific analysis -- Umut Özsu * Legal Form *An excellent new book (...) The Morals of the Market succeeds on every count. This fascinating book has a lot of new and surprising things to teach us about human rights and neoliberalism, those longstanding and cherished objects of left critical theorization. And the lessons it teaches us about them both are essential if we are to properly understand their historical trajectories (and hence to perform the necessary political work of contesting, reframing, or refusing them in the present) (...) an utterly indispensable reference point for thinking about our contemporary political juncture." -- Ben Golder * Contemporary Political Theory *[a] thought-provoking and engaging study on the relationship between human rights and the rise of neoliberalism. -- Shane Darcy * International Dialogue, A Multidisciplinary Journal of World Affairs *In an effortless and flowing writing style, Whyte confronts neoliberals with their own appalling words, woven into an astonishing and erudite critical synthesis. The book thus delivers a far-reaching and perceptive critique that fills a long-standing gap between human rights studies and analyses of neoliberalism. -- Kyriaki Pavlidou * Journal of Law and Political Economy *In The Morals of the Market, Jessica Whyte breaks new ground in the study of neoliberal political thought and human rights. What results from Whyte's study is a striking and more vivid picture of neoliberal and ordoliberal approaches to international economic order as an inherently civilizational and racialized political project. By piecing together the theory and the politics of these intellectuals and by placing them in dialogue with overlooked adversaries, this book makes a significant contribution to the historical and theoretical literature on neoliberalism, law, and political economy. -- William Callison * Perspectives on Politics *How might such a break [with neoliberalism] occur, and a more transformative conception of human rights be made mainstream? In making visible the morals of the market in so many forms, this book not only opens up the space for this question to be asked but will also undoubtedly enrich the reflections and responses of those who are willing to consider it. -- Daniel Cullen * Birkbeck Law Review *With the precision of a chronicler but the reasoning of a philosopher, Whyte shows how self-described neoliberals (who at the time occupied key policymaking positions in transnational governance, like sections of the United Nations itself) fought to distinguish, from the melee of demands for rights, a strict baseline of civic and political rights. -- Juan del Nido * Cambridge Journal of Anthropology *

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Book SynopsisFor many liberal commentators at the turn of the 1990s, the collapse of the Soviet Union represented a final victory for Western reason and capitalist democracy. But, in recent years, liberal norms and institutions associated with the post-Cold War moment have been challenged by a visceral and affective politics. Electorates have increasingly opted for a closing inwards of the nation-state, not just in the democratic heartlands of Europe and North America, but also on the periphery of the world economy. As the popular appeal of the 'open society' is thrown into question, it is necessary to revisit assumptions about the permanence of its enabling political and ethical projects. Previously promoted by the US and its allies as a necessary complement to liberal capitalist culture and the globalisation of markets, humanitarian multilateralism seems to have lost strategic currency. In this collection of essays, public intellectuals, scholars, journalists and aid workers reflect on the relationship between humanitarianism and 'liberal order'. What role has humanitarianism played in processes of liberal ordering? Amidst challenges to liberal order, what are the implications for the political economy of humanitarianism, and for the practices of humanitarian agencies?Trade Review'This brilliantly curated and genuinely troubling collection shows how, amid anxiety over the "liberal order", humanitarian moralities have been pressed back into service, entrenching existing hierarchies and obscuring noxious continuities. Essential reading for our moment.' -- Samuel Moyn, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence, Yale University, and author of 'Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World''A fascinating collection. Its impressive contributors deploy history, memoir and political theory, reflecting on the high watermark of neoliberal humanitarian aid, and wondering if the next era of humanitarianism can ever be free of economic oppression, racism and human damage.' -- Hugo Slim, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict, University of Oxford'Discusses every question that has perplexed me as a humanitarian actor for 25 years. Is humanitarian work humane? Is humanitarianism above politics, or intimately connected to the world in which it operates? What is genuine solidarity? Read this book and find out.' -- Lynne Jones, FXB Center for Health & Human Rights, Harvard University, and author of 'The Migrant Diaries''With probing and informed contributions from humanitarians and commentators across the globe, this important work raises many pertinent questions about humanitarianism in the current era. Amongst its many virtues, the book will stimulate debate about the international liberal order.' -- Michael Newman, Emeritus Professor, London Metropolitan University, and author of 'Humanitarian Intervention: Confronting the Contradictions'

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Book SynopsisFor nearly 40 years, Ronald Reagan's vision--small government, lower taxes, and self-reliant individualism--has remained America's dominant political ideology. The Democratic Party has offered no truly convincing competing vision. Instead, American liberalism has fallen under the spell of identity politics. Mark Lilla argues with acerbic wit that liberals, originally driven by a sincere desire to protect the most vulnerable Americans, have now unwittingly invested their energies in social movements rather than winning elections. This abandonment of political priorities has had dire consequences. But, with the Republican Party led by an unpredictable demagogue and in ideological disarray, Lilla believes liberals now have an opportunity to turn from the divisive politics of identity, and offer positive ideas for a shared future. A fiercely-argued, no-nonsense book, The Once and Future Liberal is essential reading for our momentous times.Trade Review'[Lilla's] argument is an important counter-weight to the prevailing wisdom.' * Financial Times *'The Once and Future Liberal is a dead-on diagnosis of what ails the Democrats.' * The Guardian *'A deep and provocative brief on what has gone wrong, and what liberals, moderates, and progressives might do about it' -- Steven Pinker'Lilla in his new book issues an important, passionate and highly critical wake-up call to liberals who, he believes, are stuck in the mud. . . . Lilla's message to liberals is timely and welcome.' * Arlie Hochschild, Washington Post *‘Lilla is no conservative. Yet it would be hard to find a better skewering of modern American liberalism than in this slim volume . . . Lilla’s book is a sizzling polemic.’'A dead-on diagnosis''Mark Lilla's The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics has annoyed a great many people in the US, though its message is nothing but common sense: in the age of Trumpery, nothing can be done for vulnerable minorities unless liberals get themselves elected to positions of influence. An urgent and important book by one of the clearest and most inspired political thinkers of the day.''Challenging and powerful''Lilla masterfully sets a dialogue in this short book.' * Los Angeles Review of Books *'A terrific short book about the decline of American liberalism explaining how they went from the successes of FDR's coalition to the pitfalls of today's identity politics. It's an accessible book that's essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we arrived in the Trump era and where the Democrats go from here.' - * Fareed Zakaria, CNN *'Lilla seeks to summon liberals to a politics of broad national interest''An urgent and important book' -- John Banville'A stunning indictment of the left's fatal descent into a bedlam of identity- and a stirring call to the power of shared citizenship and the universality of liberal ideas. Brilliant and necessary.' -- Lord Ken Macdonald QC, Warden, Wadham College, Oxford, and former Director of Public Prosecutions'If I could magically place a copy of Mark Lilla's The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics into the hands of every Democratic Party politician, activist, major donor, pollster, and consultant in the country, I would . . . Lilla has written the most admirable and necessary political broadside in years.''Mark Lilla questions liberalism's intellectual foundations in order to make it forceful and successful . . . An important book.''Besides analysing how American liberals have lost both their appeal and their politi­cal power, The Once and Future Liberal proposes a way to make liberalism relevant again.'

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Book SynopsisFeminism doesn’t empower women. It erases them.The bestselling author of Theology of Home, Carrie Gress shows that fifty years of radical feminism have solidified the primacy of the traditionally male sphere of life and devalued the attributes, virtues, and strengths of women. Feminism, the ideology dedicated to "smashing the patriarchy," has instead made male lives the norm for everyone. After fifty years of radical feminism, we can’t even define "woman." In this powerful new book, Carrie Gress says what cannot be said: feminism has abolished women. Hulking "trans women" thrash female athletes. Mothers abort their baby girls. Drag queens perform obscene parodies of women. Females are enslaved for men''s pleasure—or they enslave themselves. Feminism doesn’t avert these tragedies; it encourages them. The carefree binge of self-absorption has left women exploited, unhappy, dependent on the state, and at war with men. And still, feminists cling to their illusions of liberation. But there are real answers. Real answers for real women. Carrie Gress—a wife, mother, and philosopher—punctures the myth of feminism, exposing its legacy of abuse, abandonment, and anarchy. From the serpent’s seduction of Eve to Mary Shelley''s Frankenstein to Kate Millett’s lust, violence, and insanity to Meghan Markle’s havoc-ridden rise to royalty, Gress presents a history as intriguing as the characters who lived it. The answers women most desperately need, she concludes, are to be found precisely where they are most afraid to look. Only a rediscovery of true womanhood—and motherhood—can pull our society back from the brink. And happiness is possible only if women are open to making peace with men, with children, with God, and—no less difficult—with themselves. For feminism’s victims, Gress is a welcoming voice in the darkness: The door is open. The lights are on. Come home.

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Book SynopsisThe majority of citizens in the world today do not trust their political representatives, the mainstream political parties, the established political institutions or their governments. This widespread crisis of legitimacy underlies a series of dramatic changes that have taken place in recent times in the global political landscape, such as the unexpected election of Donald Trump, Brexit, the demise of traditional political parties and the election of a political outsider in France, the transformation of the political system in Spain (including the secessionist movement in Catalonia), the rise of the extreme right in Europe and the nationalist challenges that threaten the European Union. In this short but wide-ranging book Manuel Castells analyses each of these processes and examines some of the potential causes of people’s disaffection towards the institutions of liberal democracy, including the effects of globalization, the impact of media politics and the internet, the increasing corruption of politicians, the insulation of a professional political class from civil society and the critique of the existing order by new social movements. He also examines the impact of global terrorism and war on the xenophobia and racism that are fuelling the surge of extremism among a growing proportion of the population. The fact that many of these trends are present in very different contexts suggests that we are witnessing a deep-seated crisis of the model of democracy that has been the cornerstone of stability and civility in the last half century.Table of ContentsI. The Crisis of Democratic Legitimacy: They Do Not Represent UsII. Global Terrorism: The Politics of FearIII. Mass Rebellion and the Collapse of Political OrderIV. Spain: Social Movements, the End of Two-Party Politics and State CrisisV. The Obscure Clarity of Chaos Appendix: Reading this book Download supporting material for chapter 1 Download supporting material for chapter 3 Download supporting material for chapter 4 Download bibliography

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Book SynopsisAn edition of Isaiah Berlin's classic of liberalism, "Four Essays on Liberty", this book incorporates a fifth essay, and adds further pieces on the same topic, so that Berlin's principal statements on liberty are available together. This book throws biographical light on Berlin's preoccupation with liberty in appendices drawn from his writings.Trade ReviewA magnificent and indispensable volume: the best introduction to the most important and enduring of Berlin's ideas. * John Gray *For anyone wishing to have the essence of Berlin's thinking, Liberty is the volume to have. * John Banville, Irish Times *'Liberty not only offers a comprehensive overview of Isaiah Berlin's main topics and ideas, but also enables us to understand the development and relevance of those ideas in the context of his personality. * Steffen Gross, Dialektik *Practically every paragraph introduces us to half a dozen new ideas and as many thinkers - the landscape flashes past, peopled with familiar and unfamiliar people, all arguing incessantly. It is all a very long way from the austere eloquence of Mill's marvellous essay On Liberty, with which this collection's title seems to challenge comparison; but it is a measure of the stature of these essays that they stand such a comparison. * Alan Ryan, New Society *These famous essays ... are informed by that radical humanism, in the truest sense of that impoverished word, which has attached Sir Isaiah so closely to such nineteenth century figures as Herzen and Mill ... * Philip Toynbee, Observer *Table of ContentsTHE EDITOR'S TALE; FIVE ESSAYS ON LIBERTY; OTHER WRITINGS ON LIBERTY; AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL APPENDICES; BERLIN AND HIS CRITICS BY IAN HARRIS; INDEX

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Book SynopsisFrom Derek Hunter—one of the most entertaining political writers today—comes an insightful, alarming look at how progressives have taken over academia, pop culture, and journalism in order to declare everything liberal great, and everything great, liberal. Progressives love to attack conservatives as anti-science, wallowing in fake news, and culturally backwards. But who are the real denialists here? There are three institutions in American life run by gatekeepers who have stopped letting in anyone who questions their liberal script: academia, journalism, and pop culture. They use their cult-like groupthink consensus as proof that science, reporting, and entertainment will always back up the Democrats. They give their most political members awards, and then say the awards make their liberal beliefs true. Worse, they are using that consensus to pull the country even further to the left, by bullying and silencing dissent from even those they''ve allowed in. Just a few years ago, the media pretended they were honest brokers. Now a CNN segment is seven liberals versus a sacrificial lamb. MSNBC ate their sacrificial lamb. Well, Chris Matthews did. Tired of being forced to believe or else, Derek Hunter exposes the manufactured truths and unwritten commandments of the Establishment. With research and a biting, sarcastic wit, he explains: The growing role of celebrities in the political world, and movies with a message that dominate awards season, but rarely the box office. The unquestioning reporting on studies that don’t prove what they say they prove. The hidden bias of fact-checking, when the media cherry picks which facts they check. Celebrity scientists like Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson blending liberal activism with pretend expertise outside their fields. Clever, controversial, and convincing, Derek Hunter''s book gets to the root of America''s biggest cultural war lies.

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Book SynopsisNATIONAL BESTSELLER To get ahead today, you have to be a jerk, right?Divisive politicians. Screaming heads on television. Angry campus activists. Twitter trolls. Today in America, there is an “outrage industrial complex” that prospers by setting American against American, creating a “culture of contempt”—the habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect, but as worthless and defective. Maybe, like more than nine out of ten Americans, you dislike it. But hey, either you play along, or you’ll be left behind, right?Wrong.In Love Your Enemies, social scientist and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller From Strength to Strength Arthur C. Brooks shows that abuse and outrage are not the right formula for lasting success. Brooks blends cutting-edge behavioral research, ancient wisdom, and a decade of experience leading on

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An elegant and penetrating conception of the nature of political philosophy."---Lewis Ross, Journal of Moral Philosophy"A terrific achievement that will be of lasting benefit.—Thom Brooks, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"

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Book SynopsisIn Triggered, Donald Trump, Jr. will expose all the tricks that the left uses to smear conservatives and push them out of the public square, from online "shadow banning" to fake accusations of "hate speech." No topic is spared from political correctness. This is the book that the leftist elites don't want you to read! Trump, Jr. will write about the importance of fighting back and standing up for what you believe in. From his childhood summers in Communist Czechoslovakia that began his political thought process, to working on construction sites with his father, to the major achievements of President Trump's administration, Donald Trump, Jr. spares no details and delivers a book that focuses on success and perseverance, and proves offense is the best defense.

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Book SynopsisAwareness of the rise of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in public schools and how it has shaped our education system took the U.S. by storm over the last few years. Parents truly became aware for the first time how deeply entrenched CRT was in the classrooms, and their eyes were opened to the insidious agenda thoroughly embedded in public schools. As a result, CRT and parental rights in education became some of the most explosive issues facing Americans today.Kenny Xu is a perceptive and relentless critic of CRT and our culture's war on meritocracy. And now, in School of Woke, Xu exposes how CRT is transforming public schools and having a destructive impact on our children's education-and their future.In School of Woke, Xu provides historical context to the rise of Critical Race Theory in education, tracing it back to elite graduate schools in the 1970s and showing how the ideology became institutionalized and credentialed. Xu covers the battles taking place in the most problematic and contested school districts in the nation, including Loudoun and Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia and Santa Barbara High School in California. He also exposes the lucrative business model behind the diversity consulting industrial complex that is instrumental in the curricular wars, revealing how educators and administrators have been gaslighting the public about the prevalence of this radical ideology in the classrooms, where children as young as five are being segregated in the classroom by race and are being taught that whiteness is inherently evil.A work of colourful reportage, historical analysis, and cultural commentary, School of Woke reveals what it will take to extricate our next generation from the destructive trends in our once-vaunted public school education system.

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Book SynopsisJohn Feffer is a freelance journalist and director of the Foreign Policy In Focus programme at the Institute for Policy Studies. His journalism has spanned Eastern and Central Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. His previous books include the novel Splinterlands (2016) as well as Shock Waves: Eastern Europe After the Revolutions (1992) and Crusade 2.0: The West's Resurgent War on Islam (2012).Trade ReviewA searching, analytical work that tries to make sense of where the former East bloc countries are today and why they arrived there. The lucid, gripping narrative is a joy to read and packed with ideas.' * International Politics and Society *John Feffer brings to this story a traveller’s eye, a rich store of experiences, and a wise perspective. His thoughtful book is a reminder that few nations, anywhere, easily throw off the heritage of tyranny. * Adam Hochschild, author of Spain in our Hearts and King Leopold’s Ghost *A breath-taking whirlwind tour through the transformations of eastern Europe over the past 30 years. With its account of the travails of contemporary capitalism, it is also astonishingly relevant for understanding pressing political problems in the United States as well. * David Ost, author of The Defeat of Solidarity: Anger and Politics in Post-Communist Europe *A brisk, vivid and wide-ranging survey of a region in the grip of neoliberalism. As Feffer makes clear, this is hardly just a book about Eastern Europe, as the challenges there now seem to be spreading throughout the world. Feffer’s sense of the future evinces both pessimism of the mind and optimism of the will. * Lawrence Weschler, author of Vermeer in Bosnia and Calamities of Exile *John Feffer is our 21st-century Jack London. * Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums *Both a merciless political history and a compassionate political psychology of central and eastern Europe’s post-Cold War transformation. * Miklos Haraszti, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Belarus *An essential account of our post-liberal times. * Padraic Kenney, author of A Carnival of Revolution: Central Europe, 1989 *Feffer’s vivid, finely crafted chronicle, stocked with real-life characters, explains what went awry in Eastern Europe after communism * Paul Hockenos, author of Berlin Calling: A Story of Anarchy, Music, the Wall, and the Birth of the New Berlin *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Exile Off Main Street Part I: Stepping Backward 1. Pyramids of Sacrifice 2. The Journey to Utopia 3. The Revenge of the Provinces 4. The Faces of Illiberalism 5. Unexploded Ordnance Interlude: Stepping Backward, Leaping Forward Part II: Leaping Forward 6. Reinvention of Self 7. The Talented Tenth 8. The New Dissidents 9. The Next Generation 10. Creating New Worlds Conclusion: The Future of Illiberalism

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Book SynopsisA timely and galvanizing work that examines how right-wing evangelical Christians have veered from an admirable faith to a pernicious, destructive ideology.Today’s right-wing Evangelical Christianity stands as the very antithesis of the message of Jesus Christ. In his new book, Christians Against Christianity, best-selling author and religious scholar Obery M. Hendricks Jr. challenges right-wing evangelicals on the terrain of their own religious claims, exposing the falsehoods, contradictions, and misuses of the Bible that are embedded in their rabid homophobia, their poorly veiled racism and demonizing of immigrants and Muslims, and their ungodly alliance with big business against the interests of American workers.He scathingly indicts the religious leaders who helped facilitate the rise of the notoriously unchristian Donald Trump, likening them to the “court jesters” and hypocritical priestly sycophants of bygone eras who unquestioningly supported their sovereigns’ every act, no matter how hateful or destructive to those they were supposed to serve.In the wake of the deadly insurrectionist attack on the US Capitol, Christians Against Christianity is a clarion call to stand up to the hypocrisy of the evangelical Right, as well as a guide for Christians to return their faith to the life-affirming message that Jesus brought and died for. What Hendricks offers is a provocative diagnosis, an urgent warning that right-wing evangelicals’ aspirations for Christian nationalist supremacy are a looming threat, not only to Christian decency but to democracy itself. What they offer to America is anything but good news.

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Book SynopsisVictorian Liberalism and Material Culture assesses the unexplored links between Victorian material culture and political theory.

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Book SynopsisJordan Peterson rocketed to fame in the 2010s and has preached on everything from the evils of postmodern neo-Marxism to the mating habits of lobsters ever since then. The Left has since leveled many criticisms about the Canadian psychologist, characterizing him as everything from an apologist for the alt-right to simply not being interesting or profound. Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson is intended as a comprehensive critical look at all aspects of his thought, from the philosophical depths to the mundane heights. Written by four authors who each look at a different element of his thought, it shows why taking Peterson seriously doesn't mean embracing him. Includes an introduction by Slavoj Zizek

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Book SynopsisIn the process, they are sucking the joy out of life.In The Rise of the New Puritans, Noah Rothman explains how, in pursuit of a better world, progressives are ruining the very things which make life worth living.Trade Review“The new Puritans are here, and they’re coming for your lifestyle, your freedoms, and your fun. In this book, Noah Rothman–one of the best authors in the country today–lays out the case for just why the censorious Left is winning the day, and why the future of the country relies on rejecting their tyrannical vision for tomorrow.” — Ben Shapiro, author and host of The Ben Shapiro Show “Living through a political and cultural realignment is fascinating, bewildering, and maddening. Noah Rothman nails these disparate thoughts to the page in his new book. He sets the reader up for finding a place to sit when the music stops on this current cycle of change and the inevitable ones that will come next. The Rise of the New Puritans does not scold; rather, it is a book that lifts up the best of our American independent spirit and reinforces the love we have for our country.” — Dana Perino, White House press secretary to President George W. Bush “The best book I’ve read on the absurdity and futility of the woke movement. Rothman brilliantly and methodically exposes the vapidity of these New Puritans with too-nuts-to-be-true examples of those they target—from poets, knitters, and bird-watchers to chefs and home decorators. No one is safe in these modern-day witch trials until we realize the secret to dismantling them: mockery. Absolutely brilliant, utterly engrossing. You will laugh out loud and shout these stories from the rooftops as Rothman reminds us that sanctimonious cults of misery have historically short shelf lives.” — Megyn Kelly, author, journalist, and host of The Megyn Kelly Show “Republicans long ago mastered the art of moral preening in the public square. In The Rise of the New Puritans, Noah Rothman vividly describes how today’s progressive movement is fueled by a utopian drive to enforce ideological conformity across America. Combined with rising illiberalism on the Far Right, this new Puritanism threatens to undermine some of liberal democracy’s most cherished values. Read Noah Rothman’s book to better understand why.” — Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe “Mixing sharp, pithy political analysis with old-fashioned reporting, Noah Rothman reveals how progressivism has sucked the excitement out of American life and tainted our politics. Rothman’s a brilliant thinker with a detective’s eye for both detail and motive. And this time he’s gone rogue taking on the Joy Police themselves. This dismantling of the Left’s censorship and hysteria is a must-read.” — Jonah Goldberg, author, syndicated columnist, and editor-in-chief of The Dispatch “Noah Rothman skewers the people who, to paraphrase H. L. Mencken, have a haunting fear that someone, somewhere, might be having a good time—or, more to the point, transgressing against their petty and inane quasi-religious orthodoxies. Rothman is a first-rate writer and thinker who expertly dissects this blight on our public life and points the way to a better, less censorious American future.” — Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief of National Review “You hold in your hands a mirror on our collective recent history, and it’s pretty awful to gaze upon. Once more into the breach then with Rothman, who is a leading light of the rising generation of public intellectuals filling in the ranks of the exhausted and the exiled after more than two dozen years of constant, relentless boiling politics of rage. Freedom and fun are worth defending, and Rothman has done this for us.” — Hugh Hewitt, author, columnist, and host of The Hugh Hewitt Show “In chronicling the madness of woke excess, Rothman puts his finger on what makes its practitioners so deeply alienating: It’s not merely that they’re wrong about most things, though they are. It’s that they’re relentlessly, exhaustingly joyless, self-righteous, and devoid of grace. We can either ridicule and fight them or live under their capricious misery. Rothman takes sides—and names.” — Guy Benson, Fox News Channel contributor and host of The Guy Benson Show

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