The Retreat of Western Liberalism
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Edward Luce. (2017). The Retreat of Western Liberalism. Grove Atlantic.

Edward Luce. 2017. The Retreat of Western Liberalism. Grove Atlantic.

Edward Luce, The Retreat of Western Liberalism. Grove Atlantic, 2017.

Edward Luce. The Retreat of Western Liberalism. Grove Atlantic, 2017.

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   • bioText: Edward Luce was a speech writer for the Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers and now works as the chief U.S. columnist for the Financial Times. He is the author of the national best seller In Spite of the Gods, and lives in Washington, D.C.
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The Retreat of Western Liberalism

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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.

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     May 1, 2017
     With this wide-ranging account, Luce (Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent) enters the fray of books posing the post-2016 question “What just happened?” He begins with a summary of the current global economy’s formation and its connections to prevailing modes of governance. This leads into a history of liberal democracy, which Luce argues is held together most strongly by economic growth. In the absence of such growth, illiberal tendencies take hold. The author then explores the possible consequences of the decline of Western hegemony, including a theoretical war against China which Luce calls “not a prediction” but “a plausible extrapolation of the direction in which Trump is taking U.S. foreign policy.” The final section asks, briefly, what is to be done. Luce’s historical analysis is on point and he seems to understand the current situation as well as one could hope. One difficulty lies, however, is trying to predict the future in an era defined by a figure as mercurial as the 45th president. The main points are still relevant, even if some of the particulars will be dated before the book hits the shelves.

2. • premium: True
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     July 1, 2017
     

     Financial Times columnist Luce follows up 2012's Time To Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent with this book, which provides a glimpse into his postulation that the current political climate is both a symptom and result of years weakening liberal democracies. Luce's latest work excels in explaining the developmental history of Western democratic societies and challenging notions that this governmental model is durable enough to withstand the economic and political turmoil of present times. Luce drives home his argument regarding the volatility of Western democracies with examples and research broken down into four main segments: fusion, reaction, fallout and, half-life. For those who ascribe to Luce's theories on the current political climate, this just may be the right title at the right time as it weaves its call to action alongside projections concerning the results of the global rise of populism and present U.S. administration. VERDICT Presenting easy-to-comprehend political and economic information, this compelling read will appeal to both academics and general readers with an interest in governance.--Mattie Cook, Lake Odessa Comm. Lib., MI

     Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

3. • premium: True
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   • content:

     May 1, 2017
     Trump, Putin, Kim, Xi: given the current lineup, can the ideals of the Enlightenment endure?Authoritarianism is in the ascendant everywhere in the Western world, with Marine Le Pen gaining momentum in France and, of course, Donald Trump becoming president in the United States. But these, Financial Times Washington commentator Luce (Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent, 2012, etc.) observes, are symptoms of a greater decline. In a trajectory of liberalism that the author traces to the Magna Carta in 1215 and that reigns nearly supreme in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the forces of liberty, equality, and fraternity have splintered, while "belief in an authoritarian version of national destiny is staging a powerful comeback." Luce's case is long on description and laced with useful data--e.g., given that an iPhone is made in nine different countries, Trump's nationalist rejection of trade agreements is both anachronistic and stupid, the more so because--and this is a contentious claim on Luce's part--China is likely to outstrip the U.S. economically in the very near term. China is not the only challenge. The greater danger to the American middle class, writes the author, is artificial intelligence, a machine-driven global capitalism without much regard for the "enlightened self-interest that defined much of postwar America" until the last election. Luce's argument, though meritorious, lacks much rhetorical fire; in the hands of a Francis Fukuyama or Jacques Barzun on the right or a Christopher Lasch or Bernard-Henri Levy on the left, it might have been more memorably delivered and with more prescription to leaven the description. Still, there are some nicely pithy moments, including his parting shot: "Liberal elites, in particular, will have to resist the temptation to carry on with their comfortable lives and imagine they are doing their part by signing up to the occasional Facebook protest." Learned and well-considered, but if indeed Western liberal values are in danger of extinction, readers may seek more urgency.

     COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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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...

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