A TIMES BEST PHILOSOPHY & IDEAS BOOK OF 2022 A defence of liberalism by the renowned
political philosopher 'We need more thinkers as wise as Fukuyama digging their fingers into
the soil of our predicament' The New York Times 'A brilliantly acute summary of the way some
aspects of liberal thought have consumed themselves' Guardian ' One of the West's most
interesting public intellectuals' Times 'Hard to think of a better case for liberal
centrism' FT Liberalism - the comparatively mild-mannered sibling to the more ardent camps of
nationalism and socialism - has never been so divisive as today. From Putin's populism the
Trump administration and autocratic rulers in democracies the world over it has both thrived
and failed under identity politics authoritarianism social media and a weakened free press
the world over. Since its inception following the post-Reformation wars liberalism has come
under attack from conservatives and progressives alike and today is dismissed by many as an
'obsolete doctrine'. In this brilliant and concise exposition Francis Fukuyama sets out the
cases for and against its classical premises: observing the rule of law independence of judges
means over ends and most of all tolerance. Pithy to the point and ever pertinent this is
political dissection at its very best.
