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Freedom from Fear: An Incomplete History of Liberalism
A provocative new history of liberalism that also provides a road map for today’s liberals
Freedom from Fear offers a striking new account of the dominant political and social theory of our liberalism. In a pathbreaking reframing of the historical debate, Alan Kahan charts the development of Western liberalism from the late eighteenth century to the present. Examining key liberal thinkers and issues, Kahan shows how liberalism is both a response to fear and a source of the search for a world in which no one need be afraid.
Freedom from Fear reveals how liberal arguments typically rely on three freedom, markets, and morals. But when liberals ignore one or more of these pillars, their arguments generally fail to persuade. Extending from Adam Smith and Montesquieu to today’s battles between liberals and populists, the book examines the twists and turns of the “incomplete” or unfinished liberal tradition while demonstrating its fundamental continuity. It combines fresh accounts of familiar figures such as Tocqueville and Rawls with discussions of less-famous but pivotal thinkers such as A. V. Dicey and Jane Addams, and explores how liberals have dealt with crucial issues, from debates over male and female suffrage to colonialism and liberal anti-Catholicism.
By transforming our understanding of the history of liberal thought and practice, Freedom from Fear provides a new picture of the political creed the paths liberals need to follow, the questions they need to answer, and the dead ends they must avoid―if they are to win.
Freedom from Fear offers a striking new account of the dominant political and social theory of our liberalism. In a pathbreaking reframing of the historical debate, Alan Kahan charts the development of Western liberalism from the late eighteenth century to the present. Examining key liberal thinkers and issues, Kahan shows how liberalism is both a response to fear and a source of the search for a world in which no one need be afraid.
Freedom from Fear reveals how liberal arguments typically rely on three freedom, markets, and morals. But when liberals ignore one or more of these pillars, their arguments generally fail to persuade. Extending from Adam Smith and Montesquieu to today’s battles between liberals and populists, the book examines the twists and turns of the “incomplete” or unfinished liberal tradition while demonstrating its fundamental continuity. It combines fresh accounts of familiar figures such as Tocqueville and Rawls with discussions of less-famous but pivotal thinkers such as A. V. Dicey and Jane Addams, and explores how liberals have dealt with crucial issues, from debates over male and female suffrage to colonialism and liberal anti-Catholicism.
By transforming our understanding of the history of liberal thought and practice, Freedom from Fear provides a new picture of the political creed the paths liberals need to follow, the questions they need to answer, and the dead ends they must avoid―if they are to win.
528 pages, Hardcover
Published August 22, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 18, 2024
Martin Wolf's review in the FT that got me to buy and read this book.
"The roots of both the market economy and the democratic state lie in liberalism. In this
remarkable book, Kahan recounts in persuasive detail the history of this transformative set of
ideas. Today, as often before, liberalism confronts enemies, essentially because “The liberal project
of creating a society where none need be afraid frightens those who think that some people and/or
some groups ought to be afraid.” Liberals cannot concede on this. But they must, he suggests, add
a moral/religious pillar to their more traditional political and economic ones.
"Remarkable" is a fitting adjective, for the clarity in which the text is set out, summarising a great deal of knowledge. The author is even-handed to the point of it being difficult to assess his own of view prior to the last chapter.
"The roots of both the market economy and the democratic state lie in liberalism. In this
remarkable book, Kahan recounts in persuasive detail the history of this transformative set of
ideas. Today, as often before, liberalism confronts enemies, essentially because “The liberal project
of creating a society where none need be afraid frightens those who think that some people and/or
some groups ought to be afraid.” Liberals cannot concede on this. But they must, he suggests, add
a moral/religious pillar to their more traditional political and economic ones.
"Remarkable" is a fitting adjective, for the clarity in which the text is set out, summarising a great deal of knowledge. The author is even-handed to the point of it being difficult to assess his own of view prior to the last chapter.
November 26, 2025
Truly phenomenal and exactly what I was hoping for.
Kahan gives us a ten chapter history of Liberalism using a framework of political, economic, and moral pillars to drive freedom from fear. This framework allows Kahan to explore who was afraid of what when and how they recommended responding.
After ten very good chapters we arrive at what I believe is the point of Kahan’s efforts: an exploration of the threat of populism and a recommendation of what to do about it, building on and synthesizing all the prior chapters and perspectives.
If liberalism is your jam (and it should be!) this book is wonderful. Highly recommended.
Kahan gives us a ten chapter history of Liberalism using a framework of political, economic, and moral pillars to drive freedom from fear. This framework allows Kahan to explore who was afraid of what when and how they recommended responding.
After ten very good chapters we arrive at what I believe is the point of Kahan’s efforts: an exploration of the threat of populism and a recommendation of what to do about it, building on and synthesizing all the prior chapters and perspectives.
If liberalism is your jam (and it should be!) this book is wonderful. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews