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Professor Helena Rosenblatt's "Lost History of Liberalism" Named One of "Foreign Affairs'" Best Books of 2018

Professor Helena Rosenblatt's "Lost History of Liberalism" Named One of "Foreign Affairs'" Best Books of 2018

December 20, 2018

In his Foreign Affairs review, G. John Ikenberry called the book "lively and penetrating" offering "an intellectual history" of liberalism.

Update, January 2019 — Since this article was written in 2018, The Lost History of Liberalism was reviewed by David A. Bell in the January 17 issue of The New York Review of Books, Bell singles out the "fascinating epilogue" of this "ambitious study."

The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century by Graduate Center Professor Helena Rosenblatt (French, History) has been named one of the “Best Books of 2018” by Foreign Affairs, the magazine and website of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Foreign Affairs review, by G. John Ikenberry, called The Lost History of Liberalism “a lively and penetrating book” offering “an intellectual history” of the term.

Rosenblatt traces liberalism to the Roman Republic, where to be a liberal was to be a good citizen, devoted to the common good. Early 19th century liberals also spoke about “self-sacrifice, generosity, compassion,” Rosenblatt said in an interview with the GC podcast The Thought Project. But in the 20th century, liberalism came to stand for “a uniquely American creed of individualism,” as Ikenberry put it.

Today, liberalism is a term of derision in some political circles. The French use it in reference to small government; Americans use it in reference to big government, and libertarians who favor minimal government say they are the true liberals. Somehow, Rosenblatt wrote, “these people are all supposed to be part of the same liberal tradition.” The one tenet everyone agrees on, whether they are pro- or anti-liberalism, is that liberalism promotes “individual rights and individual interests,” with government protecting those rights.

“Rosenblatt shows that liberalism has survived thanks to its appeal as a moral ideal,” wrote Ikenberry, “a vision of political community that is based not just on interests but also on values: respect, tolerance, and justice.”

Read more about The Lost History of Liberalism here and here.

See Helena Rosenblatt interviewed on CUNY TV here.

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