Post-liberalism: recovering a shared world

The concept of post-liberalism, as outlined in this book, involves neither the denial of genuine freedom nor the endorsement of illiberal collectivism or nationalism. Instead, author Fred Dallmayr finds a path beyond atomistic selfishness or narcissism and collectivist populism in the direction of a shared, interhuman space or world. In addition to charting this path, he wrestles with other forms of relationality: between local and global concerns; between secular reason and faith or spirituality; and between concrete particularism and 'world maintenance.'

The conflict within liberal democracy is now between the pursuit of selfish interest and a "people" increasingly fractured by economic and cultural differences. Dallmayr sets out to rescue democracy as a shared public and post-liberal regime. Drawing on a wide range of contemporary political, religious, and secular thought, Dallmayr charts a possible path to a liberal socialism that is devoid of egalitarian imperatives and a private sphere free from acquisitiveness.