Customer Reviews

Putting Liberalism in Its Place

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I read Sacred Violence by this author a few months ago, and that book got me very interested in the author. That book challenged me and the ideas I held like few books I have read before. I was looking for the next one I was going to try when I came across this work. What hooked me was his introduction in which he lays out succinctly the problems I have with my own liberalism. How reason and law seem to only be able to go so far before exceeding the limits of what they can ask or require of us. This introduction assured me that I would be challenged and enlightened again, and so I was eager to tackle this book.

I will say that what I found is that the author typically expands on ideas he discussed in previous works, and this book certainly expands on the ideas in Sacred Violence. I found having already read that work contributed to my understanding of this one as well. Having read this one, I realize I am going to have to revisit this work after I have read the author's earlier books. Had I to do it over again I would have read his earlier works before tackling this one, and I believe I would have gotten even more from this book.

This is a very dense read, especially the first section. In this the author works to create a conceptual framework for which to discuss abstract ideas in concrete forms later on. He builds a framework for the discussion of ideas and a terminology for discussing these ideas. He then gives a brief history of liberalism and discusses some of the problems inherent in liberal theory. Much of this section remains abstract and as such requires a lot from the reader.

The second section puts the conceptual framework to use to explain our lives and how and where we derive meaning. He discusses the myriad of areas of our lives from which we do derive meaning. He goes into great depth discussing how these interact and overlap in our lives. What becomes evident is that a purely rational life is simply not possible. This is partly due to the fact that reason cannot demand the ultimate sacrifice from people. Family, religion and the state can all demand sacrifice and do so on continuous basis, but reason stops just short of this demand of ultimate sacrifice.

We derive meaning from a multitude of different sources and our identities are dependent on these different sources. They create who we are. These sources orbit around the idea of self, and so meaning comes from different sources depending on what area of our lives we are focused. This is a problem for liberal theory that suggests we can lead a life based on pure reason.

This is a fascinating book from a bold mind. The author tackles the problems I have had with liberalism, and makes me rethink my entire political self. The author takes these abstract problems and gives them a voice so that for the first time I see in a very real way just what those areas of difficulty are and why they exist. The reader needs to be ready for a difficult read that requires a lot from the reader. A good base in philosophy, political theory and sociology is a must. I am not an expert in any of these fields, so you don't have to have a philosophy degree to read this book, but familiarity with the classics is essential. I highly recommend this fascinating book.