Published
Jun 1, 2022Page count
206 pagesISBN
978-1529215489Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jun 1, 2022Page count
206 pagesISBN
978-1529215502Dimensions
Imprint
Bristol University PressAvailable Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence
In the wake of populism, Timothy Stacey’s book critically reflects on what is missing from the liberal project with the aim of saving liberalism.
It explains that populists have harnessed myth, ritual, magic and tradition to advance their ambitions, and why opponents need to embrace rather than eschew them. Using examples of liberally oriented activists in Vancouver, it presents an accessible theorization of these quasi-religious concepts in secular life.
The result is to provide both a new theoretical understanding of why liberalism fails to engage people, and a toolkit for campaigners, policymakers and academics seeking to bridge the gap between liberal aspirations and lived experiences, in order to promote political engagement and to create unity out of division.
Timothy Stacey is Researcher in the Urban Future Studio at Utrecht University.
1. Alternatives on the Horizon
2. What’s Liberalism Got to Do with It?
3. How to Address Liberalism’s Faults
4. A Variety of Liberalism in Vancouver
5. Myths that Might Save Liberalism: Emotional Supplements to Moral Logics
6. Rituals for Radicals
7. Magical Feelings as the Source and Aim of Myths and Rituals
8. Traditions at the End of History
9. The Truth Won’t Save Us