The Retreat of Western Liberalism - by Edward Luce (Paperback)

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Book Synopsis

Review Quotes

"Timely and informed, providing an important overview of the dynamics in an increasingly interconnected and fragmented planet . . . In his prescient 2012 book, Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent, Luce uncannily anticipated the politics of resentment and the bitter fights over immigration that would fuel 'Brexit' and last year's American election. And in this new book, he lucidly expounds on the erosion of the West's middle classes, the dysfunction among its political and economic elites and the consequences for America and the world."-Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

"Many around the globe sense a systemic crisis. To understand the nature of this crisis, we could not find a better guide than Edward Luce's The Retreat of Western Liberalism . . . Luce writes in fluid prose, moving from a telling statistic to a striking quotation. Throughout, one is struck by his command of the material and the activity of his prose-he is unsparing in his condemnation of the elites who didn't see this coming."-Fareed Zakaria, New York Times Book Review

"Mr. Luce offers a useful wake-up call to elites, urging them to focus on the very real struggles of America's besieged middle class before we all lose the freedom and democracy we cherish . . . [A] concise, accessible and valuable work."-Lawrence J. Haas, Wall Street Journal

"What the book offers is . . . a panorama of the unravelling world order as riveting as any beach read. Luce's project is to explain what the recent dark turn in Western politics-the rise of ultranationalism, populist demagoguery, cultural insularity, and social unrest-has to do with global economics. It's a story of trade balances and technological disruption, but also a withering dismantling of Western liberalism's faith in progress."-Elias Muhanna, New Yorker, "What we're reading this summer"

"A brisk, timely survey . . . Mr. Luce is a shrewd observer . . . At rapid pace and with telling statistics, Mr. Luce . . . gives a knowledgeable tour through the unmapped terrain in which Western politicians and governments must now operate."-Economist

"Edward Luce provides a terrifying view of the challenges facing the West. We have to hope that his prophecies are self denying-something that is more likely if his penetrating analysis gets the wide attention it richly deserves."-Lawrence Summers

"Read this book: In the three hours it takes you will get a new, bracing, and brilliant understanding of the dangers we in the democratic West now face. Luce is one of the smartest journalists working today, and his perceptions are priceless."-Jane Mayer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Dark Money

"The challenges to the West are outlined in detail-and they mainly come from within . . . For Luce, the combination of rising income inequality, vanishing economic mobility and distant technocracy has led to our moment's populist resurgence."-Carlos Lozada, Washington Post

"A head-clearing attempt to explore the underlying disorder and distemper in liberal democracy, in America and throughout the West . . . As this author states repeatedly, Trump is merely a symptom, not a cause, of this disorder. For readers looking for context, this primer is a good start."-Carla Seaquist, Huffington Post

"An informative look at the current state of world politics and economics . . . It's also a thought-provoking warning that history is not guaranteed."-Chris Schluep, Omnivoracious

"Important . . . Through his deep reporting and clear-headed analysis, Luce explains popular frustration with liberalism, and the resurgence of nationalism."-National Book

About the Author