Against Postliberalism

Why 'Family, Faith and Flag' is a Dead End for the Left

Kelly, Paul

1. Edition October 2025
191 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd

ISBN: 978-1-5095-5244-3

John Wiley & Sons

Further versions

Liberal politics is in crisis and it is a crisis of its own making - so say the post-liberals whose new ideology of family, faith and flag is shaping debates about the future of the Left. But are they right? Does post-liberalism offer credible answers to the problems that characterise our increasingly fragmented and unequal world?

In this bold analysis, political theorist Paul Kelly responds with a resounding no. He makes a powerful case against post-liberalism and exposes the flaws and contradictions of the dominant strands of post-liberal thinking. Drawing on the ideas of key post-liberal thinkers including John Gray, Alasdair MacIntyre, Maurice Glasman, Matthew Goodwin, Danny Kruger, J.D. Vance, Patrick Deneen and Adrian Vermuele, he sheds light on some of the darker sources behind the movement, arguing that post-liberalism fails to take seriously the real challenges of late modernity. It is neither feasible in its ambitions to return to a form of capitalism superseded by technological globalisation, and in its Trump/Vance US version it is an unattractive assault on equality, social mobility, university education and changes in social roles and expectations.

Against Post-Liberalism is both a critique of post-liberal ideas and a passionate defence of liberalism. It is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary challenges to liberalism and humane values.

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements

1. The Post-Liberal Moment?
2. National Populism and the Unmasking of Liberalism
3. Common Good Communitarianism
4. Authoritarianism, Political Theology and the Common Good
5. Liberalism against Post-Liberalism
6. Why 'Faith, Family and Flag' is a Dead End

Notes

"Far from representing a viable future for the left, Kelly expertly exposes the various ways in which the post-liberal turn to 'family, faith and flag' either collapses into authoritarianism or cannot address the most pressing problems facing western liberal democratic societies today. Against Postliberalism is vital reading for anyone interested in where the left goes from here."
Matt Sleat, University of Sheffield

Paul Kelly is Professor of Political Theory and former Pro-Director at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He has authored and edited many books across the areas of political theory and philosophy and the history of political theory with a particular focus on classical political thinkers, the theory and practice of liberal politics, and political ideas in British and US politics. He is the author of Liberalism (2005) and editor of Multiculturalism Reconsidered (2002) which are both Polity titles. His most recent books include Political Thinkers (2017) and Conflict, War and Revolution (2023).

P. Kelly, London School of Economics