The Crisis of Liberalism
The Origin and Destiny of Freedom
$37.15
- Paperback
168 pages
- Release Date
1 September 2026
Summary
The Cold War struggle against Soviet communism is over, but a new conflict - one within liberal democracy itself - has taken its place.
Contemporary liberalism is in a bad way. But most advanced thinkers misdiagnose the problem. Few can see that liberalism, like any other ideology, suffers from tensions and contradictions that threaten it from within.
While malign actors attack liberalism from the outside, the real conflict, full of antithetical freedoms and i…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781459756212 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1459756215 |
| Author: | Michael R.J. Bonner |
| Publisher: | The Dundurn Group |
| Imprint: | Dundurn Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 168 |
| Release Date: | 1 September 2026 |
| Weight: | 297g |
| Dimensions: | 215mm x 139mm x 25mm |
| Series: | The Hon. Henry N. R. Jackman Series on Canada and the World |
What They're Saying
Critics Review
A winding excursion through the uniquely Christian foundations underlying our modern concept of liberalism. * ROBERT BAINES, president and CEO, NATO Association of Canada *
The Crisis of Liberalism is an astonishing intellectual tour de force and, some might suggest, also an act of mega-chutzpah, as the author takes on what generations of political theorists had assumed was a settled question. * PETER L. BIRO, senior fellow of Massey College *
An elegant and lucid account of the Christian origins of liberalism, its baneful revolt against those origins, and its possible recovery. * HOWARD ANGLIN, constitutional lawyer *
A much welcome and illuminating intervention in a long-running debate about our present disarray. Rather than rehearsing familiar arguments about institutions, norms, or polarisation, Michael R. J. Bonner probes liberalism’s forgotten moral and theological foundations, and the consequences of losing sight of them.
* LOLA SALEM, fellow at the University of Oxford *Michael Bonner has written a top-notch diagnosis of what ails liberalism, the sustaining ethos for most democracies in the 19th and 20th centuries which is now supplying so much cannon fodder for populists today. With great erudition, he reminds us that what has been lost can also be refound. This is an insightful, big-picture read — but it’s also a much-needed call to action. Let’s hope he directs his analytical gaze next at the only other mainstream current of political thought arguably even more bent out of shape than liberalism by the past decade: conservatism.
CHRIS ALEXANDER, politician and diplomat
About The Author
Michael R.J. Bonner
Michael R.J. Bonner is a communications and public policy advisor and a historian with a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. His previous book is In Defense of Civilization. He lives in Blackstock, Ontario.
Returns
This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.