The Anatomy of Antiliberalism

"Liberal", spoken in a certain tone, summons up permissiveness, materialism, rootlessness, scepticism, and relativism run rampant. How has the grand democratic ideal come to be a dirty word? This book aims to shows what antiliberalism means in the modern world; where it comes from, whom it serves, and why it speaks with such a forceful, ever-changing voice. In the past, Marxism has been liberalism's best known and most vociferous opponent. But with the fall of Communism, the voices of ethnic particularism, communitarianism, and religious fundamentalism (a tradition Holmes traces to Joseph de Maistre) have become louder in rejection of the Enlightenment, failing to distinguish between the descendants of Marx and Adam Smith. Stephen Holmes uses the tools of the political theorist and the intellectual historian to expose the philosophical underpinnings of antiliberalism in its non-Marxist mode. Examining the works of some of liberalism's severest critics (including Maistre, Carl Schmitt, Leo Strauss, and Alasdair Maclntyre), Holmes offers a reader's guide to antiliberal culture in its various guises.
As much a mindset as a theory, as much a sensibility as an argument, antiliberalism appears here in its diverse efforts to pit "spiritual truths" and "communal bonds" against a perceived cultural decay and moral disintegration. This corrosion of the social fabric is what the antiliberals see as the core of liberal politics, rather than the separation of powers, competitive elections, a free press, religious tolerance, public budgets, and judicial controls on the police. Against this picture, Holmes outlines the classic liberal arguments which, he argues, are most often misrepresented by the enemies of liberalism, and most essential to the future of democracy. Striving to be constructive as well as critical, this book explores the nature of liberalism, and why it must and always will engender deep misgivings along with passionate commitment.