Snake That Swallowed Its Tail: Some Contradictions in Modern Liberalism (Societas) - Softcover

Garnett, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0907845886 ISBN 13: 9780907845881

Publisher: Societas, 2004

Synopsis

Liberal values are the hallmark of a civilised society. Yet they depend on an optimistic view of the human condition, Stripped of this essential ingredient, liberalism has become a hollowed-out abstraction. Tracing its effects through the media, politics and the public services, the author argues that hollowed-out liberalism has helped to produce our present discontent. Unless we stop boasting about our values and try to recover their essence, liberal society will be crushed in the coils of its own contradictions.

About this title

Review

"Few academic writers know enough about the business of politics to be able to write intelligently about the tangled links between theory and practice. Garnett is one of the few, and his arresting and often amusing account of the political history of postwar Britain as a transition from fleshed-out to hollowed-out liberalism will be read with profit by anyone interested in the role of ideas in politics."

Author: John Gray Source: New Statesman

"A clarion call to true liberals to wake up and stem the tide."

Source: The Commonwealth Lawyer

"A stimulating discussion of the nature of modern liberalism."

Source: Network

"A brainless slab of Leftist bigotry."

Source: Appraisal: The Journal of the Society for Post-Critical and Personalist Studies

"This essay voices the anger and despair of many who have witnessed the decline of the values the welfare state was laboriously constructed to disseminate ... A spirited polemic."

Author: Michael Freeden Source: The European Legacy

Synopsis

Liberal values are the hallmark of a civilised society, but depend on an optimistic view of the human condition. Stripped of this essential ingredient, liberalism has become a hollow abstraction. Tracing its effects through the media, politics and the public services, the book argues that hollowed-out liberalism has helped to produce our present discontent. The author teaches politics at Leicester University and is the co-author of "The Essential A-Z Guide to Modern British History", "Whatever Happened to the Tories", "Keith Joseph: A Life", and "The Authorized Biography of Willie Whitelaw."

About this edition

• Publisher: Societas
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0907845886
• ISBN 13: 9780907845881
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96