The Retreat of Western Liberalism, Edward Luce
The Retreat of Western Liberalism, Edward Luce
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The Retreat of Western Liberalism

Author: Edward Luce

Narrator: Julian Elfer

Unabridged: 5 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/25/2017


Synopsis

In his widely acclaimed book Time to Start Thinking, Financial Times chief U.S. columnist and commentator Edward Luce charted the course of America's relative decline, proving to be a prescient voice on our current social and political turmoil.

In The Retreat of Western Liberalism, Luce makes a larger statement about the weakening of western hegemony and the crisis of liberal democracy—of which Donald Trump and his European counterparts are not the cause, but a terrifying symptom. Luce argues that we are on a menacing trajectory brought about by ignorance of what it took to build the West, arrogance towards society's economic losers, and complacency about our system's durability—attitudes that have been emerging since the fall of the Berlin Wall. We cannot move forward without a clear diagnosis of what has gone wrong.

Combining on-the-ground reporting with intelligent synthesis of the literature and economic analysis, Luce offers a detailed projection of the consequences of the Trump administration, the rise of European populism, and a forward-thinking analysis of what those who believe in enlightenment values must do to defend them from the multiple onslaughts they face in the coming years.

About Edward Luce

Edward Luce graduated with a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics from Oxford University. He worked as a speech writer for the treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, worked as the South Asia bureau chief for the Financial Times, and is based in Washington DC as the Financial Times Washington columnist and commentator. He was formerly its Washington bureau chief. He is also the author of In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India and Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Athan on June 09, 2017

Edward Luce is a tremendous journalist. Not only does he work very hard, not only has he earned access to some of the sharpest minds in business and politics, he also commands the mightiest pen at the Financial Times, bar none. And that’s why I bought his previous book, “Time to Start Thinking.” I di......more

Goodreads review by Helen on July 02, 2020

This was a well-written, if arch, and occasionally paternalistic/condescending anti-Trump volume. I'd still recommend reading it since the author does seem to hit upon some valuable insights - tying various disciplines together and drawing upon history for parallels to the current alarming political......more

Goodreads review by Murtaza on April 26, 2018

This book was like a very long, very engaging Facebook post that consolidates a lot of the general news and trends that most of us are already concerned with today. In sum, it is about Donald Trump, Brexit, the Thucydides trap, AI, the future of work, electoral populism and a number of other topics......more

Goodreads review by Dan on September 14, 2017

This is a very smart, lucid, and independent-minded look at the issues plaguing what we consider to be "liberal democracy," today and some of the skewed points of view that its beneficiaries have about its upkeep and promotion. It seems almost funny now that after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Franci......more

Goodreads review by Andrej on July 30, 2017

This book offers a pessimistic view on the future of liberal democracy, and interprets its recent spread not as an unstoppable or monotonic trend of history, but as a fragile system, open to an attack from both within (e.g., election of Donald Trump), and outside (e.g., Russia, China). The West is n......more