Liberalism and Its Discontents
by Francis Fukuyama
Profile Books £16.99, 192 pages
The term “liberalism” is a monster that has grown large and confusing tentacles in recent decades. In the US it largely refers to left-of-centre politics, but also inspires libertarianism; in the UK it can refer to capitalist excess and also to progressive individualism and identity politics. All the time it also refers to our basic political and cultural context: liberal democracy. What a mess.
Francis Fukuyama wants to cut these sprawling tentacles down to size and return to first principles. “Classical liberalism is the doctrine that first emerged in the second half of the 17th century 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.” Neither left-wing nor right-wing, it is “a big tent that encompasses a range of political views that nonetheless agree on the foundational importance of equal individual rights, law, and freedom.”
