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A World After Liberalism

Philosophers of the Radical Right

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A World After Liberalism

By: Matthew Rose
Narrated by: Jeff Harding
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A bracing account of liberalism's most radical critics, introducing one of the most controversial movements of the 20th century.

In this eye-opening book, Matthew Rose introduces us to one of the most controversial intellectual movements of the 20th century, the "radical right", and discusses its adherents' different attempts to imagine political societies after the death or decline of liberalism. Questioning democracy's most basic norms and practices, these critics rejected ideas about human equality, minority rights, religious toleration, and cultural pluralism not out of implicit biases, but out of explicit principle. They disagree profoundly on race, religion, economics, and political strategy, but they all agree that a postliberal political life will soon be possible.

Focusing on the work of Oswald Spengler, Julius Evola, Francis Parker Yockey, Alain de Benoist, and Samuel Francis, Rose shows how such thinkers are animated by religious aspirations and anxieties that are ultimately in tension with Christian teachings and the secular values those teachings birthed in modernity.

©2021 Matthew Rose (P)2021 Yale Press Audio Church & State Conservatism & Liberalism Ideologies & Doctrines Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government Religious Studies Liberalism Socialism Social justice
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This book has done an excellent job helping me understand a political stance offensive to my sensibilities and alien to my core values.

Fascinating Peek into Alien Philosophy

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As a small c conservative/small l libertarian Republican who has been struggling to put into context the current swing of right-wing thought in America, (one that I don't agree with) this book was eye opening. The author was intellectually honest in his review of the philosophies of the far right and offered refreshing critiques of the ideas that were willing to note what these far right thinkers were getting at that is attracting people to their ideas. In doing so, he actually sometimes seems to bolster or agree with the ideas, but he actually goes to these places in order to masterfully show the faults in logic and where supporters of liberalism can go in order to understand and fight back against the power of them. While not agreeing with them, he speaks to the natural human impulses that WE ALL FEEL to explain why there is both a long-standing and newfound attraction to far-right philosophy. I believe the ideas of many thinkers covered in this book are virtually guaranteed to gain importance in the coming years. While I don't think that the adopters of these ideas will necessarily know these thinkers by name, I already see adoption of the ideas growing within American society. They won't know these thinkers by name because tendencies toward these philosophies are on some level an innate reaction of people living in the modern world to the current liberal order. If you believe that, despite its sometimes serious shortcomings, a liberal world is worth protecting and standing for, then it is imperative that you get familiar with the ideas of your ideological opponents. This is where you start.

Great book Matthew Rose!

An intellectually honest peek into the Far Right

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As someone firmly on the Marxist left, I found this book a fascinating and intellectually rigorous dive into the philosophers and core ideas of the fascist right. I also found the robust defense of Christianity against fascist critiques at the end to be well argued and insightful.

Regardless of where you happen to be on the political spectrum, this book will increase your understanding and broaden your perspective.

Essential Reading for understanding the Far Right

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This book, written from the perspective of a believer in liberalism, is a tour de force in intellectual charity. Indeed, the author exemplifies a profound understanding of what those of the radical right actually believe and wish to see in the world.

This book is a necessity for those who seek to understand the furthest fringes of right wing ideology, as the present progressive orthodoxy is woefully unequipped to do so. The self-declared victory of liberalism was perhaps premature, and Mr. Rose demonstrates why this deserves your attention.

Ignore at your own risk

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An insightful look into radical right wing thought that is non bias and informative. Probably one of the best books on audible about it!

Great

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To be honest, I am surprised how much I had to learn from the emissaries of “Alt Right” thought covered in Rose’s primer. Of course in so many ways I feel at a loss for how they arrive at some of their ideas, critiques and conclusions, especially concerning human anthropology and race. My own perspective is perhaps no less critical of liberalism, but I don’t think I delude myself in thinking/pretending I’ve intellectually or practically overcome that cultural bequeathment no matter how problematic I find it. My critique of liberalism stems more from Christian commitment and its more anarchist and communitarian forms—I’m more of a Hauerwasian than Integralist. However, I must say I really appreciated many of these far-right perspectives on the malaise in our current zeitgeist and culture. Their insights are less anodyne than the liberals who believe our dominant paradigms can be tweaked to somehow overcome the massive faulty anthropological and metaphysical assumptions of liberalism. These alt-right thinkers’ commitments to particularity are invigorating and their truly postmodern perspective is enlightening. Their paganism, however, limits the footing of their social project and Rose does an excellent job of articulating why that is. All in all this short primer leaves me wanting to learn more about the thinkers he covers here and of course learn more about the contemporary ideological inheritors of their ideas, such as the Catholic Integralism or even those who try and imagine a Christian MAGA world—as reprehensible as either would be. I hope lots of people, especially Christians of various political commitments, read this book and contend with the ideas presented and argued (against). I think it would actually be a strangely helpful endeavor in this particular political moment.

Too Short, But Excellent

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The perspective here is ultimately a Christian one. The subtext of the book is that the new right is fundamentally searching for meaning and purpose. Rose argues that this search leads them to seek out some form of traditionalism. Yet, in rejecting Christianity, they also reject Christian universalism—and by extension, the liberal moral framework built upon it. The result is a turn toward radical ideas about race, hierarchy, and segregation in an effort to preserve what they see as essential cultural identities.

I’m not a Christian, but I can see the argument being made. At the very least, Rose persuasively shows that many of these figures themselves believe Christianity is the source of liberalism. This allows Rose to credit Christian universalism for liberalism’s moral progress while also absolving it of blame for the reactionary movements that reject it. In other words, if your chief complaint about Christianity is that it slows down moral progress, Rose’s argument is that you’ve got it exactly backwards.

I’m not fully convinced—but it’s a brilliant move.

Lots of interesting stuff

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