Liberalism and Its Discontents [Paperback]

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

Classical liberalism is in a state of crisis. Developed in the wake of Europes wars over religion and nationalism, liberalism is a system for governing diverse societies that 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.

Its no secret that liberalism hasnt always lived up to its own ideals. In the United States, many have long been denied equality before the law, excluded from the category of full human beings worthy of universal rights. Only recently has this definition expanded to include, to varying degrees, women, African Americans, LGBTQ+ people, and other historically marginalized groups. As the renowned political philosopher Francis Fukuyama shows inLiberalism 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 have made a cult of economic freedom, and progressives have 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 increasing peril to our democracy.

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

Francis Fukuyamais the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford Universitys 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 Schar School of Policy and Government. Fukuyama was a researcher at the RAND Corporation and served as the deputy director for the State lc>