Preview
  • How to Be a Liberal

  • The Story of Liberalism and the Fight for Its Life
  • By: Ian Dunt
  • Narrated by: Ian Dunt
  • Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (25 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

How to Be a Liberal

By: Ian Dunt
Narrated by: Ian Dunt
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $28.37

Buy for $28.37

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From Brexit Britain to Trump's America to Orban's Hungary, liberal values are under attack.

In a soaring narrative that stretches from the English Civil War to the 2008 financial crash and the rise of populism, the journalist Ian Dunt tells the epic story of liberalism, from its birth in the fight against absolute monarchy to the modern-day resistance against the new populism.

This book explains the political ideas which underpin the modern world. But it is also something much more than that - it is a rallying cry for those who still believe in freedom and reason.

©2020 Ian Dunt (P)2020 Ian Dunt
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about How to Be a Liberal

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    19
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

A hugely engaging book that speaks to our moment by placing the contemporary malaise in politics within a broad historical narrative of Liberal thought. A must read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sobering and essential

If you're used to hearing Dunt through his broadcasting, you might be surprised at the tense, measured delivery on display here. As he guides you through the story of liberalism, and the walls it has had to demolish at every blood-stained step on its way to where we are today, you'll get the point of his urgency. It's unfinished business, and it's fragile. It's a work that's clearly been extensively researched and reasoned, but it explains the competing mindsets that are shaping geopolitics today. If you consider yourself a liberal of the centre left or the right, you'll probably end up reassured that you're on the right side, but you'll have a much better idea why that is.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Almost Quit Listening, But Glad I Stuck With It

A fantastic audiobook! The author takes you through stories of key notable figures which he believes encapsulate the evolution of liberal thought.

To clarify, this audiobook is by no means a comprehensive history, nor does the actual book itself contain sources apart from the author citing the experts he worked with in the Afterword. So while I can't say you'll get a thorough education on liberalism, you will learn a very engaging summary on how liberal ideas evolved over time. You'll learn about the liberal emphasis on property rights of John Locke to the egalitarian liberalism of John Stuart Mill to the laissez-faire liberalism of Friedrich Hayek to the "liberalism" know today as identity politics.

At times I've stepped away from the "liberal" label, simply because I don't want to be associated with the identity politics "liberal" I see today. Arguably, it shouldn't even be called liberalism! But this audiobook argues there still is a liberalism out there, one which has been unreasonable trashed upon, one which the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater, but if we continue using it it's still the most useful tool we have so all of us can live together and not die together.

Note: The narrator is the author of the book, and he is pretty monotone in his delivery. It doesn't bother me very much, but noting here for anyone who it may.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful