Liberalism in a neoliberal world.

What does it mean to be liberal in neoliberal conditions?

In this collection of short essays, contributors from sociology, politics and media and communications argue for the continued relevance of liberals and liberalism in a seemingly illiberal age. The authors interrogate the theories, histories, practices and contradictions of liberalism in relation to four central areas of public life: human rights, ethnicity and gender, education and the media. They contend that liberalism in all its forms continues to underpin specific institutions such as the university, the free press, the courts and parliamentary democracy, and that liberal ideas are regularly mobilised in areas such as counter-terrorism, minority rights, privacy and the pursuit of knowledge. They grapple with the transformations in, as well as the transformative aspects of, liberalism and highlight both its liberating and limiting capacities. We may not agree on much but we can certainly agree that an understanding of liberalism is simply too important to be left to the liberals.

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