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Leçons de leadership tirées de Mouammar Kadhafi
by Lisa GibsonParfois, les leçons les plus importantes de la vie surviennent dans les endroits les plus improbables Vous vous demandez probablement quel genre de leçons de leadership puis-je tirer de l’un des terroristes les plus notoires du monde? Après tout, il restera dans l'histoire comme l'un des dictateurs les plus brutaux et les plus méchants à cause de ses mauvaises actions? Ceci va probablement être l'un des livres sur le leadership les plus inhabituels que vous lirez. Il s’agit autant de l’auteur, le parcours de Lisa Gibson que de Mouammar Kadhafi. Le 21 décembre 1988, leurs vies sont entrées en collision de l'une des manières qui ont le plus changé la vie, quand il a assassiné le frère de Lisa. Malgré ce qu'il a fait, elle a eu une rencontre sans précédent avec lui et a consacré sa vie à aider le peuple du pays qu'il a brutalisé. Même si vous pensez qu'il n'y a rien à apprendre du leadership d'un homme comme Kadhafi, plongez dans le livre profond de Lisa et soyez inspiré et mis au défi. Découvrez que votre parcours de leadership consiste autant à apprendre «ce qu'il ne faut pas faire» en leadership qu'à apprendre «ce qu'il faut faire».
Li Da And Marxist Philosophy In China
by Nick KnightLi Da (18901966) was one of Chinas most important Marxist intellectuals and a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party, yet he has been little studied in the West. In this seminal work, Knight analyzes Li Das contribution to the dissemination of Marxist philosophy and theory in China and explores his philosophical relationship with Mao Zedong. Through the lens of Lis life and thought, this book provides a detailed assessment of the introduction and dissemination of Marxist philosophy and social theory in China. Li Da (18901966) was one of Chinas most important Marxist intellectuals and a founding member of the Chinese Communist Party. He played a major role in the introduction of Marxist philosophy and theory to China and in its dissemination among Chinese revolutionaries. His works are now regarded in China as classics of Marxist philosophy, and he is numbered among the ten most influential Chinese intellectuals of this century. Yet, almost nothing has been written about Li Da in English.In this seminal study, Knight analyzes Li Das contribution to the flowering of Marxist philosophy and theory in China, examining Lis writings and placing them in the context of the Marxist tradition. Knight also explores Li Das philosophical relationship with Mao Zedong, who was heavily influenced by Lis works. Through the lens of Lis life and thought, this book provides a detailed assessment of the introduction and dissemination of Marxist philosophy and social theory in China.
Lianda
by John IsraelIn the summer of 1937, Japanese troops occupied the campuses of Beijing’s two leading universities, Beida and Qinghua, and reduced Nankai, in Tianjin, to rubble. These were China's leading institutions of higher learning, run by men educated in the West and committed to modern liberal education. The three universities first moved to Changsha, 900 miles southwest of Beijing, where they joined forces. But with the fall of Nanjing in mid-December, many students left to fight the Japanese, who soon began bombing Changsha. In February 1938, the 800 remaining students and faculty made the thousand-mile trek to Kunming, in China’s remote, mountainous southwest, where they formed the National Southwest Associated University (Lianda). In makeshift quarters, subject to sporadic bombing by the Japanese and shortages of food, books, and clothing, students and professors did their best to conduct a modern university. In the next eight years, many of China’s most prominent intellectuals taught or studied at Lianda. This book is the story of their lives and work under extraordinary conditions. Lianda’s wartime saga crystallized the experience of a generation of Chinese intellectuals, beginning with epic journeys, followed by years of privation and endurance, and concluding with politicization, polarization, and radicalization, as China moved from a war of resistance against a foreign foe to a civil war pitting brother against brother. The Lianda community, which had entered the war fiercely loyal to the government of Chiang Kai-shek, emerged in 1946 as a bastion of criticism of China’s ruling Guomindang party. Within three years, the majority of the Lianda community, now returned to its north China campuses in Beijing and Tianjin, was prepared to accept Communist rule. In addition to struggling for physical survival, Lianda’s faculty and students spent the war years striving to uphold a model of higher education in which modern universities, based in large part on the American model, sought to preserve liberal education, political autonomy, and academic freedom. Successful in the face of wartime privations, enemy air raids, and Guomindang pressure, Lianda’s constituent universities eventually succumbed to Communist control. By 1952, the Lianda ideal had been replaced with a politicized and technocratic model borrowed from the Soviet Union.
Liar's Circus: A Strange and Terrifying Journey Into the Upside-Down World of Trump's MAGA Rallies
by Carl Hoffman"A brilliant, riveting, funny, terrifying journey into the beating heart of Trumpland." —Liza Mundy, author of Code GirlsIn this daring work of immersive journalism, based on hundreds of hours of reporting, Carl Hoffman journeys deep inside Donald Trump’s rallies, seeking to understand the strange and powerful tribe that forms the president’s base. Hoffman, who has written about the most dangerous and remote corners of the world, pierced this alternate society, welcomed in and initiated into its rites and upside-down beliefs, and finally ushered to its inner sanctum. Equally freewheeling and profound, Liar’s Circus tracks the MAGA faithful across five thousand miles of the American heartland during a crucial arc of the Trump presidency stretching from the impeachment saga to the dawn of the coronavirus pandemic that ended the rallies as we know it.Trump’s rallies are a singular and defining force in American history—a kind of Rosetta stone to understanding the Age of Trump. Yet while much remarked upon, they are, in fact, little examined, with the focus almost always on Trump’s latest outrageous statement. But who are the tens of thousands of people who fill these arenas? What do they see in Trump? And what curious alchemy—between president and adoring crowd—happens there that might explain Trump’s rise and powerful hold over both his base and the GOP?To those on the left, the rallies are a Black Mass of American politics at which Trump plays high priest, recklessly summoning the darkest forces within the nation. To the MAGA faithful, the rallies are a form of pilgrimage, a joyous ceremony that like all rituals binds people together and makes them feel a part of something bigger than themselves. Both sides would acknowledge that this traveling roadshow is the pressurized, combustible core of Trump’s political power, a meeting of the faithful where Trump is unshackled and his rhetoric reaches its most extreme, with downstream consequences for the rest of the nation.To date, no reporter has sought to understand the rallies as a sociological phenomenon examined from the bottom up. Hoffman has done just this. He has stood in line for more than 170 hours with Trump's most ardent superfans and joined them at the very front row; he has traveled from Minnesota to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Hampshire immersing himself in their culture. Liar’s Circus is a revelatory portrait of Trump’s America, from one of our most intrepid journalists.
Liars and Tyrants and People Who Turn Blue
by Barbara PaulA human lie detector sets off in search of a revolution There are 1,500 hand grenades in Alabama&’s Styx River, and none of them work. Rebels are attacking UN peacekeeping forces in Burma and Honduras, but just when the battle gets started, they find their guns don&’t fire. Someone is selling defective weaponry to violent men around the globe, and the United Nations needs to find him. In a world where even the good men are liars, it will take Shelby Kent to see the truth. Shelby is the world&’s only human lie detector, a psychic who sees a buzzing red aura around anyone—including her husband—who tells a lie. Shelby is happy to use her unique powers for the sake of world peace, but she&’ll find that unthinkable evil lies behind this strange scheme, and clairvoyance is no protection against a madman with a gun.
Liars! Cheaters! Evildoers!: Demonization and the End of Civil Debate in American Politics
by Tom De Luca John BuellThe level of vitriol in American politics has been rising with no end in sight. Terms like “evildoer,” “war on terror,” and “axis of evil” have become commonplace in our discussion of international politics. What ever happened to civil debate? Where has all this moralizing come from? And what harm has this new level of attack caused to democracy in America?In this compelling and cogent account, Tom De Luca and John Buell chart the rise of what they rightly label as the “demonization”of American politics, showing how political campaigns often neglect debates over policy in favor of fights over the private character and personal lives of politicians. Political interests are still served by this style of politics, but democracy, the authors contend, is the loser. Covering everything from the Clinton impeachment to the war on terrorism to the 2004 presidential campaign, the authors show the distinctly American qualities of demonization and how their frequency and intensity has grown in the last four decades.Suggesting that demonization is not inevitable or irreversible, this important book offers ways out of the political mudpit and back to a more civilized debate where democracy and freedom of speech can coexist in a productive, idea-rich environment.
Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy
by Jeanine PirroAs host of her own show on Fox for many years, Judge Jeanine Pirro has seen firsthand how narratives take form, whether they are based in truth or not. In her explosive new book, she will write about some of the most egregious lies she's seen, and take on the Liars, Leakers, and Liberals.
Liars: How Progressives Exploit Our Fears for Power and Control
by Glenn Beck<P>Glenn Beck, #1 bestselling author and radio host, reveals the cold truth behind the ideology of progressivism and how the tenets of this dangerous belief system are eroding the foundation of this country. <P>WHY DO WE ACCEPT THE LIES? Politics is no longer about pointing to a shining city on the hill; it's about promising you a shiny new car for your driveway. The candidate who tells the people what they want to hear is usually the one who wins--facts be damned. <P>Politicians may be sleazy and spineless, but they're not stupid. They see that the way to win is by first telling people everything that is wrong with the world, and then painting a vision of the life they want--a Utopian vision that they'll create right here on earth, one where no one is ever sick or hungry, jobless, or homeless. All we have to do is surrender our freedom and someone else's wallet and they'll make it happen. And so they continue to lie, and we continue to believe them, and they keep winning elections. <P>The only way to break the cycle is to understand why Americans fall for the deception over and over again. In Liars, #1 bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio host Glenn Beck reveals the startlingly simple answer: fear. At our most basic level, we're all afraid of something. Progressives from both parties exploit this by first pointing out the things we should be afraid of, and then offering us "solutions" to these fears. Solutions that always require us to give up our freedoms. Solutions that are based on two things: lies, and an unrelenting hunger for power and control. <P>In his signature no-holds-barred way, Beck destroys the false promises of Progressivism and takes us through its history, showing how each "wave" built up on the one before it, ultimately washing up to the beach in the form of Barack Obama--and whoever is next. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Liberal Arts and the Legacy of China’s Christian Universities (East-West Crosscurrents in Higher Education)
by Ruth Hayhoe Peter Tze Ming Ng Leping MouThis book brings together English translations of thirteen research papers published in recent years by Chinese historians, sociologists, and educators. These papers investigate various dimensions of the legacy of China’s historic The Christian Universities which continues to inspire higher education reform in China even in the twenty-first century.This book focuses on Christian Universities, which fostered a particularly notable Liberal Arts Education in the Chinese context. Besides embracing some ideals in common with Liberal Arts Education developed in the West, their Liberal Arts Education curriculum had an emphasis on readings in the classics, history, philosophy, religion, ethics, and literature which conveyed traditional Chinese values. The Christian Universities also shared a strong commitment to moral formation, community service, and global citizenship education. This book emphasizes Liberal Arts Education that focused on the whole person, where academic knowledge, skills, and character were equally valued. The book presents distinctive characteristics of the study of Christian higher education in China and the interplay between globalization and localization.
Liberal Arts at the Brink
by Victor E. FerrallLiberal arts colleges represent a tiny portion of the higher education market—no more than 2 percent of enrollees. Yet they produce a stunningly large percentage of America’s leaders in virtually every field of endeavor. The educational experience they offer—small classes led by professors devoted to teaching and mentoring, in a community dedicated to learning—has been a uniquely American higher education ideal. Liberal Arts at the Brink is a wake-up call for everyone who values liberal arts education. A former college president trained in law and economics, Ferrall shows how a spiraling demand for career-related education has pressured liberal arts colleges to become vocational, distorting their mission and core values. The relentless competition among them to attract the “best” students has driven down tuition revenues while driving up operating expenses to levels the colleges cannot cover. The weakest are being forced to sell out to vocational for-profit universities or close their doors. The handful of wealthy elite colleges risk becoming mere dispensers of employment and professional school credentials. The rest face the prospect of moving away from liberal arts and toward vocational education in order to survive. Writing in a personable, witty style, Ferrall tackles the host of threats and challenges liberal arts colleges now confront. Despite these daunting realities, he makes a spirited case for the unique benefits of the education they offer—to students and the nation. He urges liberal arts colleges to stop going it alone and instead band together to promote their mission and ensure their future.
Liberal Barbarism
by Erik RingmarIn Liberal Barbarism, Erik Ringmar sets out to explain the 1860 destruction of Yuanmingyuan - the Chinese imperial palace north-west of Beijing - at the hands of British and French armies. Yuanmingyuan was the emperor's own theme-park, a perfect world, a vision of paradise, which housed one of the greatest collections of works of art ever assembled. The intellectual puzzle which the book addresses concerns why the Europeans, bent on "civilizing" the Chinese, engaged in this act of barbarism. The answer is provided through an analysis of the performative aspect of the confrontation between Europe and China, focusing on the differences in the way their respective international systems were conceptualized. Ringmar reveals that the destruction of Yuanmingyuan represented the Europeans' campaign to "shock and awe" the Chinese, thereby forcing them to give up their way of organizing international relations. The contradictions which the events of 1860 exemplify - the contradiction between civilization and barbarism - is a theme running through all European (and North American) relations with the rest of the world since, including, most recently, the US war in Iraq.
Liberal Christianity and Women's Global Activism: The YWCA of the USA and the Maryknoll Sisters
by Amanda IzzoReligiously influenced social movements tend to be characterized as products of the conservative turn in Protestant and Catholic life in the latter part of the twentieth century, with women's mobilizations centering on defense of the “traditional” family. In Liberal Christianity and Women’s Global Activism, Amanda L. Izzo argues that, contrary to this view, liberal wings of Christian churches have remained an instrumental presence in U.S. and transnational politics. Women have been at the forefront of such efforts. Focusing on the histories of two highly influential groups, the Young Women’s Christian Association of the USA, an interdenominational Protestant organization, and the Maryknoll Sisters, a Roman Catholic religious order, Izzo offers new perspectives on the contributions of these women to transnational social movements, women’s history, and religious studies, as she traces the connections between turn-of-the-century Christian women’s reform culture and liberal and left-wing religious social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Izzo suggests that shared ethical, theological, and institutional underpinnings can transcend denominational divides, and that strategies for social change often associated with secular feminism have ties to spiritually inspired social movements.
Liberal Democracy and Environmentalism: The End of Environmentalism? (Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science)
by Marcel Wissenburg Yoram LevyIn recent decades, environmental issues have increasingly been incorporated into liberal democratic thought and political practice. Environmentalism and ecologism have become fashionable, even respectable schools of political thought. This apparently successful integration of environmental movements, issues and ideas in mainstream politics raises the question of whether there is a future for what once was a counter-movement and counter-ideology. Liberal Democracy and Environmentalism provides a reflective assessment of recent developments, social relevance and future of environmental political theory, concluding that although the alleged pacification of environmentalism is more than skin deep, it is not yet quite deep enough. This book will appeal to students and researchers of social science and philosophers with an interest in environmental issues.
Liberal Democracy and Peace in South Africa
by Pierre Du Toit Hennie KotzéSouth Africa's transition to democracy was met by the global audience with at first, disbelief, followed later by applause. After fifteen years of democracy big questions remain: has a more democratic regime also lead to a more liberal society? And has democracy made for a more peaceful society?
Liberal Democracy and the Limits of Tolerance: Essays in Honor and Memory of Yitzhak Rabin
by Raphael Cohen-AlmagerAn irony inherent in all political systems is that the principles that underlie and characterize them can also endanger and destroy them. This collection examines the limits that need to be imposed on democracy, liberty, and tolerance in order to ensure the survival of the societies that cherish them. The essays in this volume consider the philosophical difficulties inherent in the concepts of liberty and tolerance; at the same time, they ponder practical problems arising from the tensions between the forces of democracy and the destructive elements that take advantage of liberty to bring harm that undermines democracy. Written in the wake of the assasination of Yitzhak Rabin, this volume is thus dedicated to the question of boundaries: how should democracies cope with antidemocratic forces that challenge its system? How should we respond to threats that undermine democracy and at the same time retain our values and maintain our commitment to democracy and to its underlying values? All the essays here share a belief in the urgency of the need to tackle and find adequate answers to radicalism and political extremism. They cover such topics as the dilemmas embodied in the notion of tolerance, including the cost and regulation of free speech; incitement as distinct from advocacy; the challenge of religious extremism to liberal democracy; the problematics of hate speech; free communication, freedom of the media, and especially the relationships between media and terrorism.
Liberal Democracy and the Social Acceleration of Time
by William E. Scheuerman"A fine contribution to the literature on the problems of modern liberal democracy."—ChoiceThe pace of American society has quickened exponentially since the Founding Fathers first mapped the constitution. Information travels at the speed of light; so does money. We can hop from one side of the country to the other in a matter of hours, contact our elected officials instantaneously, and share our views with thousands of people at the touch of a button.Both academia and the popular media have grappled with the consequences of this acceleration on every aspect of contemporary life. Most pressing, however, may be its impact on political life. In Liberal Democracy and the Social Acceleration of Time, William Scheuerman offers a sophisticated assessment of the implications of social and technological celerity in the operation of liberal democracies. Specifically, he asks what is acceleration's main impact on the traditional liberal democratic model of the separation of powers?According to Scheuerman, high speed has created an imbalance. The executive branch was intended to react with dispatch; by contrast, legislatures and the courts were designed to be more deliberate and thoughtful. While this system of checks and balances was effective in the age of horse and buggy, Scheuerman argues that the very features that were these institutions' strengths may now be a liability. Throughout this book, Scheuerman offers a constructive critique which articulates ways in which "liberal democracy might be recalibrated in accordance with the tempo of modern society.
Liberal Democracy as the End of History: Fukuyama and Postmodern Challenges (Routledge Innovations in Political Theory)
by Christopher HughesFrancis Fukuyama claims that liberal democracy is the end of history. This book provides a theoretical re-examination of this claim through postmodernist ideas. The book argues that postmodern ideas provide a valuable critique to Fukuyama’s thesis, and poses the questions: can we talk about a universal and teleological history; a universal human nature; or an autonomous individual? It addresses whether postmodern theories - concerning the movement of time, what it means to be human, and what it means to be an individual/subject - can be accommodated within a theory of a history that ends in liberal democracy. The author argues that incorporating elements of postmodern thought into Fukuyama’s theory makes it possible to produce a stronger and more compelling account of the theory that liberal democracy is the end of history. The result of this is to underpin Fukuyama’s theory with a more complex understanding of the movement of time, the human and the individual, and to show that postmodern concepts can, paradoxically, be used to strengthen Fukuyama’s theory that the end of history is liberal democracy. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of political theory, postmodernism and the work of Francis Fukuyama.
Liberal Democracy: Prosperity through Freedom (SpringerBriefs in Political Science)
by Max MeyerThis open access book aims to show which factors have been decisive in the rise of successful countries. Never before have so many people been so well off. However, prosperity is not a law of nature; it has to be worked for. A liberal economy stands at the forefront of this success – not as a political system, but as a set of economic rules promoting competition, which in turn leads to innovation, research and enormous productivity. Sustainable prosperity is built on a foundation of freedom, equal opportunity and a functioning government. This requires a stable democracy that cannot be defeated by an autocrat. Autocrats claim that “illiberalism” is more efficient, an assertion that justifies their own power. Although autocrats can efficiently guide the first steps out of poverty, once a certain level of prosperity has been achieved, people begin to demand a sense of well-being – freedom and codetermination. Only when this is possible will they feel comfortable, and progress will continue. Respect for human rights is crucial.The rules of the free market do not lean to either the right or left politically. Liberalism and the welfare state are not mutually exclusive. The “conflict” concerns the amount of government intervention. Should there be more or less?As a lawyer, entrepreneur, and board member with over 40 years of experience in this field of conflict, the author clearly describes the conditions necessary for a country to maintain its position at the top.
Liberal Disorder, States of Exception, and Populist Politics (Routledge Studies in Anti-Politics and Democratic Crisis)
by Valur IngimundarsonLiberal democracy is in trouble. This volume considers the crosscutting causes and manifestations of the current crisis facing the liberal order.Over the last decade, liberal democracy has come under mounting pressure in many unanticipated ways. In response to seemingly endless crisis conditions, governments have turned with alarming frequency to extraordinary emergency powers derogating the rule of law and democratic processes. The shifting interconnections between new technologies and public power have raised questions about threats posed to democratic values and norms. Finally, the liberal order has been challenged by authoritarian and populist forces promoting anti- pluralist agendas. Adopting a synoptic perspective that puts liberal disorder at the center of its investigation, this book uses multiple sources to build a common historical and conceptual framework for understanding major contemporary political currents. The contributions weave together historical studies and conceptual analyses of states of exception, emergency powers, and their links with technological innovations, as well as the tension-ridden relationship between populism and democracy and its theoretical, ideological, and practical implications.The book will be of interest to scholars and students of a number of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences: history, political science, philosophy, constitutional and international law, sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, and economics.
Liberal Education and Its Discontents: The Crisis in the Indian University
by Shashikala SrinivasanWhat explains the peculiar trajectory of the university and liberal education in India? Can we understand the crisis in the university in terms of the idea of education underlying it? This book explores these vital questions and traces the intellectual history of the idea of education and the cluster of concepts associated with it. It probes into the cultural roots of liberal education and seeks to understand its scope, effects and limits when transplanted into the Indian context. With an extensive analysis of the philosophical writing on the idea of university and education in the West and colonial documents on education in India, the book reconstructs the ideas of Gandhi and Tagore on education and learning as a radical alternative to the inherited, European model. The author further reflects upon how we can successfully deepen liberal education in India as well as construct alternative models that will help us diversify higher learning for future generations. Lucid, extensive and of immediate interest, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers interested in the history and philosophy of education and culture, social epistemology, ethics, postcolonial studies, cultural studies and public policy.
Liberal Education, Civic Education, and the Canadian Regime: Past Principles and Present Challenges
by David W. LivingstoneShortly after Canadian confederation, Thomas D'Arcy McGee proclaimed that education was "an essential condition of our political independence" and that its role was to form citizens for the new regime. Comparing this idea of education for citizenship, or civic education, to the modern goals of education, Liberal Education, Civic Education, and the Canadian Regime explores the founders' principles, their sources, and the challenges that threaten their vision for Canada. The collection's first essays analyze the political thought of early Canadians such as Brown, McGee, Ryerson, and Bourinot, while later chapters examine enduring principles of liberal democracy derived from Aristotle, de Tocqueville, and Hobbes. The final chapters bring the discussion forward to such topics as the decline of Canadian Catholic liberal arts colleges and the emerging role of our Supreme Court as a self-appointed "moral tutor." Moreover, as it deals with the changing roles of universities in contemporary Canada, Liberal Education, Civic Education, and the Canadian Regime engages current debates about the value and place of a traditional liberal education and the consequences of turning our back on the concepts that inspired our founding leaders. Considering whether Canada’s early documents and traditions can revive past debates and shed light on contemporary issues, this highly original collection presents education as an essential condition of our independence and asks whether current educational principles are threatening Canadians’ capacity for self-government.
Liberal Education, Civic Education, and the Canadian Regime: Past Principles and Present Challenges
by David W. LivingstoneShortly after Canadian confederation, Thomas D'Arcy McGee proclaimed that education was "an essential condition of our political independence" and that its role was to form citizens for the new regime. Comparing this idea of education for citizenship, or civic education, to the modern goals of education, Liberal Education, Civic Education, and the Canadian Regime explores the founders' principles, their sources, and the challenges that threaten their vision for Canada. The collection's first essays analyze the political thought of early Canadians such as Brown, McGee, Ryerson, and Bourinot, while later chapters examine enduring principles of liberal democracy derived from Aristotle, de Tocqueville, and Hobbes. The final chapters bring the discussion forward to such topics as the decline of Canadian Catholic liberal arts colleges and the emerging role of our Supreme Court as a self-appointed "moral tutor." Moreover, as it deals with the changing roles of universities in contemporary Canada, Liberal Education, Civic Education, and the Canadian Regime engages current debates about the value and place of a traditional liberal education and the consequences of turning our back on the concepts that inspired our founding leaders. Considering whether Canada’s early documents and traditions can revive past debates and shed light on contemporary issues, this highly original collection presents education as an essential condition of our independence and asks whether current educational principles are threatening Canadians’ capacity for self-government.
Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning
by Jonah Goldberg"Fascists," "Brownshirts," "jackbooted stormtroopers"--such are the insults typically hurled at conservatives by their liberal opponents. Calling someone a fascist is the fastest way to shut them up, defining their views as beyond the political pale. But who are the real fascists in our midst?Liberal Fascism offers a startling new perspective on the theories and practices that define fascist politics. Replacing conveniently manufactured myths with surprising and enlightening research, Jonah Goldberg reminds us that the original fascists were really on the left, and that liberals from Woodrow Wilson to FDR to Hillary Clinton have advocated policies and principles remarkably similar to those of Hitler's National Socialism and Mussolini's Fascism.Contrary to what most people think, the Nazis were ardent socialists (hence the term "National socialism"). They believed in free health care and guaranteed jobs. They confiscated inherited wealth and spent vast sums on public education. They purged the church from public policy, promoted a new form of pagan spirituality, and inserted the authority of the state into every nook and cranny of daily life. The Nazis declared war on smoking, supported abortion, euthanasia, and gun control. They loathed the free market, provided generous pensions for the elderly, and maintained a strict racial quota system in their universities--where campus speech codes were all the rage. The Nazis led the world in organic farming and alternative medicine. Hitler was a strict vegetarian, and Himmler was an animal rights activist.Do these striking parallels mean that today's liberals are genocidal maniacs, intent on conquering the world and imposing a new racial order? Not at all. Yet it is hard to deny that modern progressivism and classical fascism shared the same intellectual roots. We often forget, for example, that Mussolini and Hitler had many admirers in the United States. W.E.B. Du Bois was inspired by Hitler's Germany, and Irving Berlin praised Mussolini in song. Many fascist tenets were espoused by American progressives like John Dewey and Woodrow Wilson, and FDR incorporated fascist policies in the New Deal.Fascism was an international movement that appeared in different forms in different countries, depending on the vagaries of national culture and temperament. In Germany, fascism appeared as genocidal racist nationalism. In America, it took a "friendlier," more liberal form. The modern heirs of this "friendly fascist" tradition include the New York Times, the Democratic Party, the Ivy League professoriate, and the liberals of Hollywood. The quintessential Liberal Fascist isn't an SS storm trooper; it is a female grade school teacher with an education degree from Brown or Swarthmore.These assertions may sound strange to modern ears, but that is because we have forgotten what fascism is. In this angry, funny, smart, contentious book, Jonah Goldberg turns our preconceptions inside out and shows us the true meaning of Liberal Fascism.
Liberal Freedom: Pluralism, Polarization, and Politics
by Eric MacGilvrayWe seem to be losing the ability to talk to each other about – and despite – our political differences. The liberal tradition, with its emphasis on open-mindedness, toleration, and inclusion, is ideally suited to respond to this challenge. Yet liberalism is often seen today as a barrier to constructive dialogue: narrowly focused on individual rights, indifferent to the communal sources of human well-being, and deeply implicated in structures of economic and social domination. This book provides a novel defense of liberalism that weaves together a commitment to republican self-government, an emphasis on the value of unregulated choice, and an appreciation of how hard it is to strike a balance between them. By treating freedom rather than justice as the central liberal value this important book, critical to the times, provides an indispensable resource for constructive dialogue in a time of political polarization.