Liberalism in Dark Times - by Joshua L Cherniss (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A timely defense of liberalism that draws vital lessons from its greatest midcentury proponents

Today, liberalism faces threats from across the political spectrum. While right-wing populists and leftist purists righteously violate liberal norms, theorists of liberalism seem to have little to say. In Liberalism in Dark Times, Joshua Cherniss issues a rousing defense of the liberal tradition, drawing on a neglected strand of liberal thought.

Assaults on liberalism--a political order characterized by limits on political power and respect for individual rights--are nothing new. Early in the twentieth century, democracy was under attack around the world, with one country after another succumbing to dictatorship. While many intellectuals dismissed liberalism as outdated, unrealistic, or unworthy, a handful of writers defended and reinvigorated the liberal ideal, including Max Weber, Raymond Aron, Albert Camus, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Isaiah Berlin--each of whom is given a compelling new assessment here.

Building on the work of these thinkers, Cherniss urges us to imagine liberalism not as a set of policies but as a temperament or disposition--one marked by openness to complexity, willingness to acknowledge uncertainty, tolerance for difference, and resistance to ruthlessness. In the face of rising political fanaticism, he persuasively argues for the continuing importance of this liberal ethos.

Review Quotes

"Liberalism in Dark Times as a whole is more than its parts, as Cherniss draws perceptive comparisons between his protagonists throughout the book. . . . Those interested in twentieth-century liberal thought have much to learn from his carefully researched work."---Kei Hiruta, Global Intellectual History

"Important and original. . . .Liberalism in Dark Times remains one of the best studies of its kind."---Iain Stewart, History of European Ideas

"Cherniss extracts continuities across his cohort of thinkers with singular rigor and richness; he continually teases out meaningful distinctions between the positions these figures held, the subtle but significant degrees of emphasis on realism or idealism that distinguish their respective characters and conclusions; and he provides an especially enlivening view of the way that each thinker's personal experiences shaped their liberal temper. . . . As an historical study, peering into the lives and minds of major midcentury thinkers, this book seems to me exemplary. Every text Cherniss engages with yields suggestive nuances through his careful analysis."---Ian Afflerbach, H-Diplo

"Liberalism in Dark Times [is] an important, impressive and well documented book. . . .A much needed study now that the liberal democracies face the rise of autocratic governments around the world as well as the rise of internal autocratic movements."---Joseph C. Bertolini, The European Legacy

"A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year"

"Liberalism in Dark Times is a historically sensitive presentation of what Cherniss reconstructs as a tempered liberalism within the interwar period, the Second World War and the Cold War as reservoirs for the political thinking of Aron, Berlin, Camus and Niebuhr. . . . the book is not only deep in its detailed readings of Weber, Lukács, Camus, Aron, Niebuhr and Berlin, but also broad- and open-minded in the intellectual engagements with the variety of traditions and positions in contemporary political theory."---Anders Berg-Sørensen, Contemporary Political Theory

"[A] fascinating book."---G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs

"[A] stellar and timely contribution. . . . In Liberalism in Dark Times, Cherniss has done us a great service by pointing us toward the examples [Camus, Aron, Niebuhr, and Berlin] set in their times. In our own times, as we continue to wrestle with the liberal predicament, we would do well to follow their lead."---Daniel Stid, American Purpose

"A persistent political temptation is to fight fire with fire--to defend liberalism by illiberal means, to become ruthlessly liberal. In Cherniss's hands, the liberal predicament becomes the challenge of sustaining the moral fortitude to refuse ruthlessness. . . . Ruthlessness corrodes the liberal ethos, eventually transforming us into our foes"---Robert B. Talisse, Review of Politics

"Cherniss . . . is to be commended for writing the first book-length study on the historical origins and ethical nature of Cold War liberalism."---Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins, The Baffler

"In this terrifically rich, scholarly, and stimulating book, Cherniss seeks to recover a way of thinking about liberalism as a response to the problem of ruthlessness. . . . Liberalism in Dark Times is a vital book for those who are not willing to give up on [liberalism] quite yet."---Matt Sleat, Perspectives on Politics

"Thoughtful and clearly presented."-- "Choice Reviews"

About the Author

Joshua L. Cherniss is associate professor of government at Georgetown University and the author of A Mind and Its Time: The Development of Isaiah Berlin's Political Thought. He lives in Washington, DC. Twitter @JoshuaCherniss