Links:

    -AUTHOR SITE: alexlefebvre.com
    -TWITTER: @alex_usyd
    -FACULTY PAGE: Professor Alexandre Lefebvre (University of Sydney)
    -BOOK SITE: Liberalism as a Way of Life by Alexandre Lefebvre (Princeton University Press)
    -INDEX: Alexandre Lefebvre (Academia.edu)
    -CHAPTER: Closed and Open Societies (Alexandre Lefebvre & Nils F. Schott, 2022, The Bergsonian Mind)
    -EXCERPT: Liberalism as a Way of Life by Alexandre Lefebvre (Academia.edu) [PDF]
    -ESSAY: Liberalism and the Good Life (Alexandre Lefebvre, 2022, Journal of Social and Political Philosophy)

Not even the most persnickety historian would deny that Montesquieu and Locke are hugely in?uential for the liberal tradition. On paper, they furnish most of its main ideas: separation of powers, rule of law, consent of the governed, and individual rights. Furthermore, and this is Shklar’ sargument, they set a mood of misanthropy for those fully ?edged liberals who follow in their footsteps. Yet something essential is missing: the development of these ideas and mood in relation to the single great political problem that would animate the nineteenth century. It was up to thinkers who took the name liberal to do that.

What was that problem? Ironically, the very thing that brought the world of cruel kings and bold princes crashing down: democracy. Nineteenth century liberals of all stripes were exercised by the fact that not just political, but also social, economic, moral, and cultural power would increasingly be held by the common man.

    -ESSAY: Liberalism may be the source of your soul (Alexandre Lefebvre, June 14, 2024, Princeton University Press)
    -ESSAY: The Spiritual Exercises of John Rawls (Alexandre Lefebvre, 2021, Political Theory)
    -ESSAY: Human Rights as Spiritual Exercises (Alexandre Lefebvre, 2020, The Subject of Human Rights)
    -ESSAY: Liberalism and the Good Life (Alexandre Lefebvre, 2022, Journal of Social and Political Philosophy)
    -ESSAY: Human Rights and the Leap of Love (Alexandre Lefebvre, 2016, Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy)
    -ESSAY: The Rights of Man and the Care of the Self (Alexandre Lefebvre, 2016, Political Theory)
    -ESSAY: Wollstonecraft, Human Rights, and the Care of the Self (Alexandre Lefebvre, 2016, Humanity: an International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development)
    -ESSAY: Rawls the redeemer: For John Rawls, liberalism was more than a political project: it is the best way to fashion a life that is worthy of happiness (Alexandre Lefebvre, Aeon)
    -ESSAY: Liberal Soulcraft: Liberalism is in trouble. It will take a concerted act of will to save it. (Alex Lefebvre, Aug 12, 2024, Persuasion)
    -ESSAY: Ode to Joy:The mood at the Democratic National Convention can tell us a lot about what makes life meaningful *Alexander Lefebvre, 29 Aug 2024, ABC: Religion & Ethics)
    -REVIEW: of Helena Rosenblatt, The Lost History of Liberalism (Alexandre Lefebvre, 2018, Times Higher Education)

a cool-headed observer might step back from the scene to observe that, polemics aside, liberalism does indeed have a settled meaning. It is a doctrine whose core principle consists of the protection of the individual and, speci?cally, his or her rights and choices.

    -VIDEO INTERVIEW: "Liberalism as a Way of Life": Alexandre Lefebvre in conversation with Helena Rosenblatt (The Philosopher, Jun 20, 2024)
    -PODCAST: Liberalism is not Neutral: In a secular age, where do liberals get their values from? (SHADI HAMID AND CHRISTINE EMBA, MAY 31, 2024, Wisdom of Crowds)
    -INTERVIEW: Liberalism As a Way of Life: An interview with political theorist Alexandre Lefebvre, whose important new book offers a comprehensive, spiritual defense of liberalism against its enemies and opponents (DAMON LINKER, MAY 22, 2024, Notes from the Middleground)

Well, liberalism has a characteristic set of values. We can argue around the edges but the core, I’d say, is personal freedom, fairness, tolerance, reciprocity, self-reflection, and irony. In the way that Christianity, for example, has a recognizable package of moral commitments and excellences (such as love, fellowship, charity, and devotion), so does liberalism.

    -PODCAST: Are we all liberals at heart?: Liberalism isn't just a political philosophy but the basis of a truly meaningful life. That's the bold statement of philosopher Alexandre Lefebvre, author of the forthcoming book Liberalism As A Way of Life. Should individuals be free to pursue their own passions and interests in life? Does liberalism mean more than freedom of speech and small government? You might not identify as a liberal, but are we in fact all liberals at heart? (ABC: Big Ideas, 3/27/24)
    -PODCAST: Bonus - The Liberal Way w/ Alexandre Lefebvre (AMERICAN PRESTIGE, JUN 02, 2024)
    -PODCAST: Alexandre Lefebvre (Keen On)
    -PODCAST: The Liberal Way w/ Alexandre Lefebvre (American Prestige, June 2, 2024)
    -PODCAST: Alexandre Lefebvre, "Liberalism as a Way of Life" (New Books in Political Science, July 1, 2024)
    -PODCAST: Episode 2105: Alexandre Lefebvre explains why Liberalism is a Way of Life (Keen On, June 23, 2024)
    -PODCAST: Alexandre Lefebvre on Liberalism as a Way of Life: Yascha Mounk and Alexandre Lefebvre discuss taking liberalism seriously as the main moral paradigm of our world. (Yascha Mounk, Sep 14, 2024, The Good Fight)
    -PODCAST: Liberalism as a Way of Life: Alexandre Lefebvre (Helena Rosenblatt, Jun 24, 2024, Boston Review)
    -PODCAST: #354 - Liberalism As A Way Of Life: A Dialogue with Alexandre Lefebvre (Xavier Bonilla, 6/30/24, Converging Dialogues)
    -PODCAST: Alexandre Lefebvre (The Gist, 9/26/24)
    -REVIEW ESSAY: Marinating in liberalism: Can this philosophical tradition offer a blueprint for a just society? (Peter Mares, 6 JULY 2024, Inside Story)
    -REVIEW ESSAY: Liberalism and the West’s ‘Crisis of Meaning’: Many liberals are strangely eager to concede that liberal societies are morally and spiritually bankrupt without religion to give life meaning. (Matt Johnson, 4 Jul 2024, Quillette)
    -VIDEO ARCHIVE: Alexandre Lefebvre (YouTube)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Daniel Bell, Times Literary Supplement)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Walter G. Moss, LA Progressive)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Becca Rothfield, Washington Post)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Galen Watts, The Point)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Stephen Holmes, The Ideas Letter)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Sam Mace, Liberal Currents)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Matt McManus, Jacobin)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Peter Berkowitz, July 28, 2024, Real Clear Politics)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Galen Watts, The Point)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Sam Mace, Liberal Currents)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Georgina Downer, Australian Policy and History)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Mathis Bitton, Critical Inquiry)
    -REVIEW: of Liberalism as a Way of Life (Tod Lindberg, Commentary)
    -REVIEW: of L:iberalism as a Way of Life (Tim Sommers, 3Quarks)
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