Response to William Scheuerman's review of A Liberal World Order in Crisis: Choosing Between Imposition and Restraint

Extract

Thanks to William Scheuerman for his thoughtful and stimulating comments on my book. It is certainly true that the crisis of liberalism in general and of the liberal world order in particular is not a new subject. Then why take it up again? For two reasons: first, many of the previous and contemporary critical analyses of the liberal world order tend to be prejudiced by theoretical and/or political convictions that serve to predetermine their view of the subject. I consider myself a skeptical liberal in the sense that the progress which most liberals talk about is possible and desirable, but it cannot be taken for granted and the obstacles to progress are much more serious than many liberals think. Differently put, there is no end of history, no secure path to modernity for all, no safe, upward arrow towards progress. “History has no libretto,” as Alexander Herzen said.