The Liberalism Trap: John Stuart Mill and Customs of Interpretation

Menaka Philips argues that the focus on liberalism has limited our political imaginations and that John Stuart Mill's political arguments are often substituted for his liberal status. By reading Mill against the limits of liberalism, Philips recovers a thinker guided by a politics of uncertainty and invites a critical evaluation of the customs of interpretation that shape contemporary political thought.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 11 September 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Liberalism is a topic of great debate in modern political thought, with arguments about its meanings, endurance, imminent death, or revival being widespread. However, what impact do these preoccupations with liberalism have on the way political questions are taken up? In her book "The Liberalism Trap," Menaka Philips argues that the focus on liberalism has become a customary limit on our political imaginations. To examine the costs of that custom, Philips turns to John Stuart Mill, the so-called paradigmatic liberal. As she argues, Mill's famed liberal status is often substituted for his political arguments, such that the now standard association of Mill with liberalism determines how and why he is read.

Philips, however, takes a break from that ready association. Her comparative reading of Mill's work concerning women's emancipation, class reform, and the British Empire recovers a thinker guided not by the ideological certainties he is often made out to represent, but by a politics of uncertainty. This politics generated radical, gradualist, and paternalist strategies throughout his proposals on domestic and imperial questions.

By reading Mill against the limits of liberalism, Philips draws out the possibilities and risks of Mill's own political practice, while inviting a critical evaluation of the customs of interpretation that shape contemporary political thought.

In conclusion, "The Liberalism Trap" is a thought-provoking book that challenges our assumptions about liberalism and its impact on political thought. Philips' comparative reading of Mill's work reveals a thinker who was guided by a politics of uncertainty and who generated radical, gradualist, and paternalist strategies to address domestic and imperial questions. By reading Mill against the limits of liberalism, Philips invites us to critically evaluate the customs of interpretation that shape contemporary political thought and to explore the possibilities and risks of alternative political practices.

Weight: 458g
Dimension: 244 x 165 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197658550