Liberalism

A compelling history of liberalism from the nineteenth century to todayDespite playing a decisive role in shaping the past two hundred years of American and European politics, liberalism is no longer the dominant force it once was. In this expanded and updated edition of what has become a classic history of liberalism, Edmund Fawcett traces its ideals, successes, and failures through the lives and ideas of exemplary thinkers and politicians from the early nineteenth century to today. Significant revisions—including a new conclusion—reflect recent changes affecting the world political order that many see as presenting new and very potent threats to the survival of liberal democracy as we know it. A richly detailed account of a vulnerable but critically important political creed, this book reminds us that to defend liberalism it is vital to understand its character and history.

"Honorable Mention for the 2015 PROSE Award in Government & Politics, Association of American Publishers", "A richly informative historical tour of liberal leaders and concepts. . . . [Fawcett] takes a commendably liberal approach."---Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review, "Excellent. . . . What Fawcett clearly and compellingly shows is that the relationship of capitalism to the state, of economics to politics, should be at the heart of any history of liberal ideas. Whether you take his version as a story about liberalism's realist adaptability or its counterrevolutionary intent, it's a fitting one for a moment in which capitalism and political economy are back on the agenda."---Katrina Forrester, The Nation, "Fawcett's workmanlike history of the bundle of ideas and practices that liberals have espoused since the Spanish liberales coined the term after the Napoleonic wars is an excellent guide to liberalism's rise and fall."---David Marquand, New Republic, "[A] comprehensive, quirky, scholarly and personal exploration of one of the dominant ideas in political discourse. . . . This is a phenomenal work of research and synthesis. . . . A pool of profound, rigorous research and thought that has no shallow end."

Edmund Fawcett worked at The Economist for more than three decades, serving as chief correspondent in Washington, Paris, and Berlin, as well as European and literary editor. His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, and the Times Literary Supplement, among other publications.