Liberalism and Its Discontents

by Francis Fukuyama

Overview

A short book about the challenges to liberalism from the right and the left by the bestselling author of The Origins of Political Order.

Classical liberalism is in a state of crisis. Developed in the wake of Europe’s wars over religion and nationalism, liberalism is a system for governing diverse societies, which is grounded in fundamental principles of equality and the rule of law. It emphasizes the rights of individuals to pursue their own forms of happiness free from encroachment by government.

It's no secret that liberalism didn't always live up to its own ideals. In America, many people were denied equality before the law. Who counted as full human beings worthy of universal rights was contested for centuries, and only recently has this circle expanded to include women, African Americans, LGBTQ+ people, and others. Conservatives complain that liberalism empties the common life of meaning. As the renowned political philosopher Francis Fukuyama shows in Liberalism and Its Discontents, the principles of liberalism have also, in recent decades, been pushed to new extremes by both the right and the left: neoliberals made a cult of economic freedom, and progressives focused on identity over human universality as central to their political vision. The result, Fukuyama argues, has been a fracturing of our civil society and an increasing peril to our democracy.

In this short, clear account of our current political discontents, Fukuyama offers an essential defense of a revitalized liberalism for the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374606718
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	05/10/2022
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	867,526
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He has previously taught at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and at the George Mason University School of Public Policy. Fukuyama was a researcher at the RAND Corporation and served as the deputy director for the State Department’s policy planning staff. He is the author of Identity, Political Order and Political Decay, The Origins of Political Order, The End of History and the Last Man, Trust, and America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy. He lives with his wife in California.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

1 What Is Classical Liberalism? 1

2 From Liberalism to Neoliberalism 19

3 The Selfish Individual 31

4 The Sovereign Self 47

5 Liberalism Turns on Itself 65

6 The Critique of Rationality 85

7 Technology, Privacy, and Freedom of Speech 99

8 Are There Alternatives? 115

9 National Identity 129

10 Principles for a Liberal Society 141

Notes 155

Bibliography 165

Index 171

Editorial Reviews

03/21/2022

A liberalism under siege from right and left gets a measured defense in this incisive treatise on politics and governance. Stanford University political scientist Fukuyama (The End of History and the Last Man), ponders classical liberalism as a creed that champions respect for individual dignity and autonomy, the rule of law, economic freedom, and scientific rationality. Unfortunately, he contends, liberalism has wandered into excesses, including neoliberal economic theories and policies that are hostile to even necessary government regulation and breed inequality, dislocation, and soulless consumerism; divisive attacks on social traditions in the name of personal self-actualization; identity politics demanding that rights be invested in groups rather than individuals; and ambitions to override property rights and redistribute wealth. As a result, both right-wing populists and left-wing progressives are wary of liberal ideals of tolerance, freedom, and reasoned debate. Fukuyama’s lucid, insightful analysis traces liberalism’s development back to its medieval Christian roots and forward to modern philosophical muddles and today’s wrangles over voting restrictions and cancel culture, offering tart criticism for all sides: “Progressives and white nationalists come together in valuing raw feeling and emotion over cold empirical analysis.” The result is an authoritative and accessible diagnosis of how liberalism went wrong and how it can reclaim its best impulses. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM Partners. (May)

Publishers Weekly

★ 04/01/2022

In his latest book, political scientist Fukuyama (Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment) identifies and formulates responses to criticisms of the liberal world order. First, he defines "liberalism" as the classical liberalism originally expressed by John Locke and other thinkers of the Enlightenment era, with its focus on individual rights and rule of law. He argues that the excesses of late 20th-century neoliberalism (identity politics; the cult of economic freedom) have triggered backlash against liberalism from both the left and the right. While there are many leftist critiques of liberalism, Fukuyama identifies the right as the more serious threat to liberalism, giving the examples of Putin in Russia, Orban in Hungary, and Trump in the United States; he argues that all three figures are willing to undermine liberal institutions, such as an independent judiciary and a free press, to expand their own power. VERDICT Essential reading for all students of political science. Fukuyama's scholarly, yet approachable work is highly recommended for any reader interested in understanding the current political environment.—Joshua Wallace

Library Journal

★ 2022-02-09
The renowned political scientist and philosopher considers classical liberalism and the broad range of enemies arrayed against it.

“By ‘liberalism,’ ” writes Fukuyama, “I refer to the doctrine…that argued for the limitation of the powers of governments through law and ultimately constitutions, creating institutions protecting the rights of individuals living under their jurisdiction.” Born of events such as the English civil war and the Enlightenment, this liberalism also encouraged diversity of thought, religion, and ethnicity, placing it squarely in the crosshairs of today’s authoritarian nationalists, not least Donald Trump. Fukuyama has often been identified with conservative causes, but his thinking here is democratic to the core, and he has no use for such pathetic lies as Trump’s insistence that the 2020 election was stolen. That said, the author notes that liberalism has many enemies on both the left and the right for numerous real yet correctable failings. The neoliberalism that has emerged over the past couple of generations has accelerated inequality, and numerous institutions have been eroded while others, such as the Electoral College, have been revealed to be anti-democratic. Both left and right, the author argues, have trouble accepting that governing over diversity, the hallmark of liberalism, means governing over many ethnic and national groups, strata of income, and competing interests. He adds, however, “Left-of-center voters…remain much more diverse” in political outlook. Essential to a liberal society, Fukuyama insists, is the right to vote: “Voting rights are fundamental rights that need to be defended by the power of the national government.” While he insists that individual rights take precedence over group rights, he also observes that the social contract demands citizen participation. To the conservative charge that the social contract is one thing but the “common moral horizon” another, he answers that yes, liberalism does not insist on a single morality—which “is indeed a feature and not a bug.”

A deceptively slender but rich argument in favor of conserving liberal ideals—and liberal government.

Kirkus Reviews

"[Liberalism and Its Discontents is] a rare thing: [an] academic treatise that may actually have influence in the arena of practical politics . . . Fukuyama writes with a crystalline rationality."
—Joe Klein, New York Times Book Review

"Liberalism and its Discontents is a sterling book . . . Powerful and well-executed."
—Seamus Flaherty, Quillette

"An eloquent and eminently sensible defense of liberal freedom and pluralism that should be read and debated by leaders and activists across the ideological spectrum. This clearly written and concisely argued book highlights Fukuyama’s lifelong examination of the political theories and systems that shape human history—and in turn get shaped by its developments.”
—John Halpin, Washington Monthly

"Essential reading . . . Fukuyama’s scholarly, yet approachable work is highly recommended for any reader interested in understanding the current political environment." —Library Journal

"A liberalism under siege from right and left gets a measured defense in this incisive treatise . . . lucid [and] insightful . . . [A]n authoritative and accessible diagnosis of how liberalism went wrong and how it can reclaim its best impulses." —Publishers Weekly

"[Fukuyama’s] thinking here is democratic to the core . . . A deceptively slender but rich argument in favor of conserving liberal ideals—and liberal government." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Urgent and timely . . . A vital strength of this slim, elegant book is that it is crystalline in its definitions, even while acknowledging the complexities of practice . . . A brilliantly acute summary of the way some aspects of liberal thought have consumed themselves." —Andrew Anthony, The Guardian

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