The Retreat of Western Liberalism - Paperback

by Edward Luce (Author)

An "insightful and harrowing" analysis of the state of Western-style democracy by the Financial Times columnist and author of Time to Start Thinking (The New York Times).

In his widely acclaimed book Time to Start Thinking, Financial Times columnist Edward Luce charted the course of America's economic and geopolitical decline, proving to be a prescient voice on the state of the nation.

In The Retreat of Western Liberalism, Luce makes a larger statement about the weakening of western hegemony and the crisis of democratic liberalism-of which Donald Trump and his European counterparts are not the cause, but a symptom. Luce argues that we are on a menacing trajectory brought about by ignorance of what it took to build the West, arrogance toward society's economic losers, and complacency about our system's durability--attitudes that have been emerging since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unless the West can rekindle an economy that produces gains for the majority of its people, its political liberties may be doomed.

Combining on-the-ground reporting with economic analysis, Luce offers a detailed projection of the consequences of the Trump administration and a forward-thinking analysis of what those who believe in enlightenment values must do to protect them.

Author Biography

Edward Luce is a graduate from Oxford University in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He worked as a speech writer for the treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, worked as the South Asia bureau chief for the Financial Times, and is based in Washington DC as the Financial Times Washington columnist and commentator. He was formerly its Washington bureau chief. He is also the author of In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern Indiaand Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent.