Liberalism in Dark Times: The Liberal Ethos in the Twentieth Century

by Joshua L. Cherniss

Overview

A timely defense of liberalism that draws vital lessons from its greatest midcentury proponents

Today, liberalism faces threats from across the political spectrum. While right-wing populists and leftist purists righteously violate liberal norms, theorists of liberalism seem to have little to say. In Liberalism in Dark Times, Joshua Cherniss issues a rousing defense of the liberal tradition, drawing on a neglected strand of liberal thought.

Assaults on liberalism—a political order characterized by limits on political power and respect for individual rights—are nothing new. Early in the twentieth century, democracy was under attack around the world, with one country after another succumbing to dictatorship. While many intellectuals dismissed liberalism as outdated, unrealistic, or unworthy, a handful of writers defended and reinvigorated the liberal ideal, including Max Weber, Raymond Aron, Albert Camus, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Isaiah Berlin—each of whom is given a compelling new assessment here.

Building on the work of these thinkers, Cherniss urges us to imagine liberalism not as a set of policies but as a temperament or disposition—one marked by openness to complexity, willingness to acknowledge uncertainty, tolerance for difference, and resistance to ruthlessness. In the face of rising political fanaticism, he persuasively argues for the continuing importance of this liberal ethos.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691220932
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	02/21/2023
Pages:	328
Sales rank:	917,541
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Joshua L. Cherniss is associate professor of government at Georgetown University and the author of A Mind and Its Time: The Development of Isaiah Berlin’s Political Thought. He lives in Washington, DC. Twitter @JoshuaCherniss

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

A Note on Sources, Citations, and Abbreviations xv

Introduction. The Vices of Virtue: Liberalism and the Problem of Ruthlessness 1

1 "Squeamishness Is the Crime": Ruthlessness, Ethos, and the Critique of Liberalism 14

2 Between Tragedy and Utopia: Weber and Lukács on Ethics and Politics 40

3 A Just Man: Albert Camus and the Search for a Decent Heroism 68

4 The "Morality of Prudence" and the Fertility of Doubt: Raymond Aron's Defense of a Realist Liberalism 102

5 Against Cynicism and Sentimentality: Reinhold Niebuhr's Chastened Liberal Realism 137

6 "The Courage of … Our Doubts and Uncertainties": Isaiah Berlin, Ethical Moderation, and Liberal Ethos 166

Conclusion. Good Characters for Good Liberals?: Ethos and the Reconstruction of Liberalism 197

Notes 223

Bibliography 267

Index 291

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Wholly original and distinctive. Anyone interested in liberalism and its history ought to read this book.”—Alan Ryan, author of On Politics

“In this beautifully written book, Joshua Cherniss draws on the history of liberalism to make a compelling and timely argument. Today, when liberalism faces an existential crisis, and people are being drawn to political extremes, liberals should not abandon their political ethos to embrace the tactics of their illiberal adversaries. Rather, they should learn from thinkers like Niebuhr, Camus, Aron, and Berlin, who advocated a ‘tempered liberalism’ during a crisis that was not all that different from our own. Cherniss’s book offers many important insights into the political thought of these key thinkers and valuable lessons for our own time.”—Helena Rosenblatt, author of The Lost History of Liberalism

“A remarkably well-developed case for a ‘tempered liberalism.’ Rejecting dangerous strains of political thought—both antiliberalism on the right and a lack of complexity on the left—Cherniss charts a political theory that celebrates humility, pluralism, limits, skepticism, humor, realism, and modesty. The result is an expansive intellectual tool kit for the future.”—Kevin Mattson, author of When America Was Great: The Fighting Faith of Liberalism in Postwar America

“Liberalism in Dark Times offers an original contribution to a timely and important topic: the crisis and future of liberalism. By drawing on a wide range of thinkers from Max Weber and Albert Camus to Reinhold Niebuhr, Isaiah Berlin, and Raymond Aron, Joshua Cherniss explores the ethos of liberalism and its complex relationship with the tradition of political moderation. A wonderful book for our troubled times.”—Aurelian Craiutu, author of Faces of Moderation: The Art of Balance in an Age of Extremes

Editorial Reviews

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year

From the Publisher

"Thoughtful and clearly presented."

Choice Reviews