Liberalism as a Way of Life

Reviews / Votes

"A New Yorker Best Book We've Read This Year" "Stirring and clarifying."---David Brooks, The New York Times "Richly erudite and thoughtful. A lot of this book is fun, and none of it is frivolous."---Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker "Daring and engrossing.... At last, someone has developed a rigorous, unsentimental vocabulary with which to probe the relationship between the moral and political strains of the liberal tradition."---Becca Rothfeld, Washington Post "At a time when liberalism is under assault from multiple quarters in the U.S. and around the world, Lefebvre offers a rousing case that liberalism is not only the best political system, but also a spiritual touchstone that makes for a rewarding life, warm relationships and a thriving society."---Suzanne Nossel, New York Times "A mind-bending effort to bring Rawlsian soulcraft back to life. [Lefebvre's] highly entertaining book presents difficult ideas in an engaging and humorous way."---Daniel A. Bell, Times Literary Supplement "Warm and inspiring... A humane and spirited defense of the (left)-liberal good life."---Matt McManus, Jacobin "Lefebvre's idea of liberalism is a bit like Flaubert's depiction of the author as God in his universe - present everywhere, and visible nowhere...as much of the philosophy [of liberalism] may be under threat (the rise of the far-right, illiberal democracies everywhere), [Lefebvre] is, often humorously, optimistic."---Steven Carroll, The Sydney Morning Herald "[Liberalism as a Way of Life] helps us understand what a future liberal revival might look like.""---Zack Beauchamp, Vox "In this spirited defense of liberalism, Lefebvre celebrates the ordinary, everyday virtues of life in a free and open society . . . a sensibility that should be celebrated, cultivated, and embraced as an ethical vision for daily life."---G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs "Liberalism as a Way of Life [is] a fascinating and remarkably cheerful sermon addressed at those who claim to believe in the radical, liberal moral adventure of our times but still need to be properly converted to realize the profound spiritual implications of their adventure."---Ferenc Laczo, Contemporary Political Theory "Lefebvre's book manifests many virtues. The author writes amiably and gracefully. His erudite and accessible arguments distill the main points of complex theories and bring them into focus with arresting examples and vivid analogies. His humor disarms and his self-deprecation charms. ... And he captures in multiple formulations and from numerous angles liberalism's core commitment to that free and generous spirit that discerns the common humanity and unique individual in every person."---Peter Berkowitz, Real Clear Politics "In his new book Liberalism as a Way of Life, the scholar Alexandre Lefebvre comes out swinging. Yes, he says, liberalism promotes values-and they are awesome values! It teaches freedom, fairness, and reciprocity, which are among the best values out there."---Jonathan Rauch, Persuasion "The book is an ode to joy and duty-a claim that to be more just, more fair, and more open is a good in itself and something we should strive to do."---Sam Mace, Liberal Currents "Lefebvre has written an inspiring, hopeful and original book about the value of liberalism. It is an antidote for liberals who think that the spirit of the times is completely turned against them."---Dirk Verhofstadt, Liberales "Lefebvre's writing combines erudite commentary with numerous pop references to books, films and TV series, which makes for fun reading and shows how much liberal ideology permeates our culture."---Helio Schwartsman, Folha de S.Paulo "A laudable effort to explain the virtues of a liberal way of life."---Manuel Arias Maldonado, Letras Libres "An original and sound vision of what it can mean to be a liberal 'through and through."---Jeroen Bouterse, 3 Quarks Daily "Liberalism as a Way of Life aspires to paint such a compelling picture of the liberal faith that we, his fellow liberals, will want to live up to it-not out of shame, but because of its inherent appeal.

"---Galen Watts, The Point "Vivid... Lyrical."---George Scialabba, Commonweal "The charm of Lefebvre's approach to Rawls lies in how he transforms the dense and conceptually innovative analysis of A Theory of Justice into a frolicking, page-turning work of self-help for liberals."---Stephen Holmes, The Ideas Letter "Lefebvre calls Liberalism as a Way of Life a self-help book, a genre with a dubious reputation. But when it comes to responding to the lure of authoritarian leaders, the motto "A better democracy starts with yourself" is not so crazy."---Casper Thomas, Nederlands Dagblad "[Alexandre Lefebvre] advocates a more comprehensive version of liberalism - one in which we are free but also generous... A great benefit of Liberalism as a Way of Life... is that [it] renders complex ideas accessible and engaging."---Peter Mares, Inside Story "[Lefebvre] does something seemingly impossible: creates a self-help book grounded in the liberalism of John Rawls. . . . [Liberalism as a Way of Life] is an addition to one of the most powerful strands of liberal political thought. . . . An entertaining read...Highly recommended." * Choice * "Liberalism as a Way of Life presents the contemporary questions vexing those who try to live a good and liberal life in an imperfect world in an engaging and thought-provoking way."---Georgina Downer, Australian Policy and History "To liberals, [Lefebvre] offers an unbeaten path; to critics, he offers a worthy opponent who takes the spiritual dimension of life seriously. Liberalism as a Way of Life deserves to be read widely."---Mathis Bitton, Critical Inquiry "An original and at times exciting contribution to our understanding of liberalism."---Tod Lindberg, Commentary "An indispensable antidote to our prevailing condition of fashionable pessimism... Alexandre Lefebvre's wager is that liberalism 'has the moral depth and spiritual range to redeem everyday life'... If we are to have any chance of navigating a way through the dire straits in which we find ourselves, we'd better hope [he's] right."---Scott Stephens, The Australian Book Review "In a rare convergence between academic rigor and literary style, political philosopher Alexandre Lefebvre argues that progressive liberalism should be understood not only as a set of constitutional principles or individual rights, but as an ethical and cultural basis for a way of life that combines freedom, tolerance and diversity"---Lucas Petroni, Quatro cinco um "Lefebvre succeeds insofar as, at nearly every turn, I felt the need to answer him."---Dan Dixon, The Sydney Review of Books "Lefebvre writes deftly and with uncommon cheer for a treatise in political philosophy. At times, he comes across more like a missionary for a doctrine he thinks will save us than a measured political philosopher. It's meant as praise. He takes a position and defends it with gusto."---Carl Rudbeck, Svenska Dagbladet "A deeply human book that exemplifies a fun yet respectable way of writing about political theory."---Christian Alejandro Gonzalez, The Dispatch "Impressive and important... Lefebvre's Liberalism as a Way of Life is the boldest statement of [the] belief (or, put more aptly, faith) that liberalism has its own internal resources for salvation from crisis"---Emma Planinc, Modern Intellectual History "A shining example of what a book about Important and Heavy topics can be."---Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, Ministry for Popular Culture "Liberalism as a Way of Life is such a breath of fresh air"---Scott A. Reznick, The Hedgehog Review "Lefebvre's liberalism is neither dull nor distant: it makes the life of liberalism feel alive, and it is that kind of playful but still thoughtful register that is desperately needed to bring hope and clarity in a fraught and dizzying political moment."---Benjamin Ball, Marginalia Review of Books "A very promising and substantial attempt to undertake the most difficult task for a philosopher: making philosophy concrete. ... Lefebvre not only finds a viable path to apply philosophy to everyday life, but shows that it can be done by appreciating the values that already shape our liberal societies."---Davide Versari, Pli: the Warwick Journal of Philosophy "Can John Rawls be a good life coach? ... In the hands of a lively and lucid interpreter like Alexandre Lefebvre, Rawls's theory yields unexpected ethical force and insight."---Jeffrey Church, The Review of Politics "Lefebvre aims to do nothing less than re-moralize and add a sense of enchantment to liberalism."---Joseph Creamer, America Magazine "Extraordinary... a beautiful, generous, and persuasive meditation on liberalism as a way of life."---Carlos Leone, Expresso "This is the rare and refreshing book about liberalism that does not seem secretly intimidated by the Right."---Laura Field, Illiberalism.org "Exceptional originality."---Daniel Loewe, Estudios Publicos "The book celebrates liberalism not just as a type of political order centered around individual freedom, but as an attitude towards the world."---Kevin Currie, Philosophy Now "Humorous and engaging...Lefebvre highlights the value of living as a liberal."---Baldwin Wong, Political Theory "Damn the torpedoes-your intellectualist nitpicking, your sophisticated anti-sentimentalism, your seen-it-all cynicism-and read this book."---John McGowan, Perspectives on Politics "[Liberalism as a Way of Life] seeks to reshape liberal thought in original and fundamental ways."---Ming Kit Wong, Cambridge Review of International A?airs "It's just delightful. It basically tells us that we're all liberals, whether we know it or not. He draws on comedy shows and TV series. Just a lovely, uplifting book."---Helena Rosenblatt, New York Times