Description
Description
Why liberalism is all you need to lead a good, fun, worthy, and rewarding life--and how you can become a better and happier person by taking your liberal beliefs more seriously
Where do you get your values and sensibilities from? If you grew up in a Western democracy, the answer is probably liberalism. Conservatives are right about one thing: liberalism is the ideology of our times, as omnipresent as religion once was. Yet, as Alexandre Lefebvre argues in Liberalism as a Way of Life, many of us are liberal without fully realizing it--or grasping what it means. Misled into thinking that liberalism is confined to politics, we fail to recognize that it's the water we swim in, saturating every area of public and private life, shaping our psychological and spiritual outlooks, and influencing our moral and aesthetic values--our sense of what is right, wrong, good, bad, funny, worthwhile, and more. This eye-opening book shows how so many of us are liberal to the core, why liberalism provides the basis for a good life, and how we can make our lives better and happier by becoming more aware of, and more committed to, the beliefs we already hold. A lively, engaging, and uplifting guide to living well, the liberal way, Liberalism as a Way of Life is filled with examples from television, movies, stand-up comedy, and social media--from Parks and Recreation and The Good Place to the Borat movies and Hannah Gadsby. Along the way, you'll also learn about seventeen benefits of being a liberal--including generosity, humor, cheer, gratitude, tolerance, and peace of mind--and practical exercises to increase these rewards. You're probably already waist-deep in the waters of liberalism. Liberalism as a Way of Life invites you to dive in.
About the Author
About the Author
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
Liberalism as a Way of Life aspires to paint such a compelling picture of the liberal faith that we, his fellow liberals, will want to live up to it--not out of shame, but because of its inherent appeal.
"---Galen Watts, The Point "Daring and engrossing.... At last, someone has developed a rigorous, unsentimental vocabulary with which to probe the relationship between the moral and political strains of the liberal tradition."---Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post "[Liberalism as a Way of Life] helps us understand what a future liberal revival might look like.""---Zack Beauchamp, Vox "Liberalism as a Way of Life [is] a fascinating and remarkably cheerful sermon addressed at those who claim to believe in the radical, liberal moral adventure of our times but still need to be properly converted to realize the profound spiritual implications of their adventure."---Ferenc Laczó, Contemporary Political Theory "A New Yorker Best Book We've Read This Year" "An original and at times exciting contribution to our understanding of liberalism."---Tod Lindberg, Commentary "Lefebvre writes deftly and with uncommon cheer for a treatise in political philosophy. At times, he comes across more like a missionary for a doctrine he thinks will save us than a measured political philosopher. It's meant as praise. He takes a position and defends it with gusto."---Carl Rudbeck, Svenska Dagbladet "Lefebvre calls Liberalism as a Way of Life a self-help book, a genre with a dubious reputation. But when it comes to responding to the lure of authoritarian leaders, the motto "A better democracy starts with yourself" is not so crazy."---Casper Thomas, Nederlands Dagblad "Richly erudite and thoughtful. A lot of this book is fun, and none of it is frivolous."---Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker "In this spirited defense of liberalism, Lefebvre celebrates the ordinary, everyday virtues of life in a free and open society . . . a sensibility that should be celebrated, cultivated, and embraced as an ethical vision for daily life."---G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs "Lefebvre succeeds insofar as, at nearly every turn, I felt the need to answer him."---Dan Dixon, The Sydney Review of Books "Lefebvre's liberalism is neither dull nor distant: it makes the life of liberalism feel alive, and it is that kind of playful but still thoughtful register that is desperately needed to bring hope and clarity in a fraught and dizzying political moment."---Benjamin Ball, Marginalia Review of Books "A laudable effort to explain the virtues of a liberal way of life."---Manuel Arias Maldonado, Letras Libres "The book is an ode to joy and duty--a claim that to be more just, more fair, and more open is a good in itself and something we should strive to do."---Sam Mace, Liberal Currents "In a rare convergence between academic rigor and literary style, political philosopher Alexandre Lefebvre argues that progressive liberalism should be understood not only as a set of constitutional principles or individual rights, but as an ethical and cultural basis for a way of life that combines freedom, tolerance and diversity"---Lucas Petroni, Quatro cinco um "Stirring and clarifying."---David Brooks, The New York Times "Warm and inspiring... A humane and spirited defense of the (left)-liberal good life."---Matt McManus, Jacobin "In his new book Liberalism as a Way of Life, the scholar Alexandre Lefebvre comes out swinging. Yes, he says, liberalism promotes values--and they are awesome values! It teaches freedom, fairness, and reciprocity, which are among the best values out there."---Jonathan Rauch, Persuasion "Lefebvre has written an inspiring, hopeful and original book about the value of liberalism. It is an antidote for liberals who think that the spirit of the times is completely turned against them."---Dirk Verhofstadt, Liberales "Vivid... Lyrical."---George Scialabba, Commonweal "[Lefebvre] does something seemingly impossible: creates a self-help book grounded in the liberalism of John Rawls. . . . [Liberalism as a Way of Life] is an addition to one of the most powerful strands of liberal political thought. . . . An entertaining read...Highly recommended."-- "Choice" "An indispensable antidote to our prevailing condition of fashionable pessimism... Alexandre Lefebvre's wager is that liberalism 'has the moral depth and spiritual range to redeem everyday life'... If we are to have any chance of navigating a way through the dire straits in which we find ourselves, we'd better hope [he's] right."---Scott Stephens, The Australian Book Review
Publishing Information
Publishing Information

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