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  • How to Be a Liberal

  • The Story of Liberalism and the Fight for Its Life
  • By: Ian Dunt
  • Narrated by: Ian Dunt
  • Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (296 ratings)
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How to Be a Liberal

By: Ian Dunt
Narrated by: Ian Dunt
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Summary

From Brexit Britain to Trump's America to Orban's Hungary, liberal values are under attack.

In a soaring narrative that stretches from the English Civil War to the 2008 financial crash and the rise of populism, the journalist Ian Dunt tells the epic story of liberalism, from its birth in the fight against absolute monarchy to the modern-day resistance against the new populism.

This book explains the political ideas which underpin the modern world. But it is also something much more than that - it is a rallying cry for those who still believe in freedom and reason.

©2020 Ian Dunt (P)2020 Ian Dunt

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Tour de force

Magnificent narrative analysis of how Liberalism has evolved. Would highly recommend to anyone trying to make sense of the state we are in!

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6 people found this helpful

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Not what I was expecting and all the better for it

There's some heavy stuff to get through but not in a bad way. It's almost heartbreaking hearing some of the story of liberalism read in such a normal, steady voice. Thank goodness for the last 20 minutes though - A call to arms for would be liberals all: Confidence and humility. Thanks.

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4 people found this helpful

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Brilliant.

Superb narrative sweep of liberal history and its juxtaposition with the nationalist tendencies that are seeping into everyday discourse.

An absolute joy to listen to, brilliantly narrated by the author.

Highly recommended both as a historical sweep and for its delve into liberalism.

The paragraph on the French Revolution was extremely well told.

Buy this- you won’t regret it!

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4 people found this helpful

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Interesting premise & argument let down by reading

This book has an interesting premise and and strong argument, although there is nothing particularly novel in its interpretation of history and it is a bit oversimplistic in the binary definitions of "liberalism" and "nationalism" and co-opts historical figures who would not recognise themselves as liberals in the modern sense to the cause. However, an oddly characterless and stilted reading by the author himself lets this audiobook down. I would sooner read it in conventional book form and give the printing presses some work.

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3 people found this helpful

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Fantastic in-depth introduction to Liberalism

It’s long, but a fascinating overview of the origins of Liberalism. I particularly enjoyed learning of how its development intersected with economic theory throughout the 20th century and into the 21st; the pull between Hayek and Keynes, the former’s recent dominance causing many of the problems we now face. Most crucially, it’s greatly helped to inform my own thinking.

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3 people found this helpful

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A bit disappointing

I should start by saying that I generally approve of Ian Dunt's work as a journalist, but I was a bit let down by this book. It seems to meander its way through the history of political thought without any particular destination or clear argument to hold it together. Maybe the net was cast a bit too widely...? The first half contains some interesting chapters but most of the second half is a pretty superficial account of the last 15 years - the credit crisis, identity politics, social media - and nothing really new is said about any these subjects as far as I could discern.

The narration tends towards the monotonous and the pronunciation of too many words is mangled - particularly non-English words. That got annoying after a while.

Not an awful book by any means and I learned quite a lot in the first half, but not as good as I'd hoped.

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2 people found this helpful

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Best book I’ve read in a while

Excellent survey of the history of the liberal thought, and implications of the recent complacency and lack of engagement with complexities. Finishes with recommendations of what lies ahead and a compelling call for action to revive the egalitarian liberalism.

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2 people found this helpful

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Excellently argued case for progressive values

Based on a sweeping and fascinating review of the genesis of liberal thought, makes a compelling argument to reject the nationalist garbage of Trump/Johnson and just generally try to become a less comprehensively awful society. French pronunciation in the audio version leaves a little to be desired but overall an excellent read/listen.

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2 people found this helpful

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Utterly Gripping

I learned so much in so few hours. I've already started recommending it to friends.

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1 person found this helpful

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A good read but not always well read

A very interesting history and pretty coherent narrative. I feel better informed for having listened.

At times Dunt sounds really annoyed at having to read out his book and that made it a more difficult listen.

I did feel the attack on identity politics was a bit OTT at times and there was a greater need to emphasise that identity politics is a reaction to the failure of other ideologies, including liberalism, to address the concerns of marginalised people. Would have been good to have some reflection on what liberals can do to address this shortcoming in liberalism, rather than just being scathing about identity politics.

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