Toomas Hendrik Ilves

A short book about the challenges to liberalism from the right and the left by the bestselling author of The Origins of Political Order . Classical liberalism is in a state of crisis. Developed in the wake of Europe’s wars over religion and nationalism, liberalism is a system for governing diverse societies, which is grounded in fundamental principles of equality and the rule of law. It emphasizes the rights of individuals to pursue their own forms of happiness free from encroachment by government. It's no secret that liberalism didn't always live up to its own ideals. In America, many people were denied equality before the law. Who counted as full human beings worthy of universal rights was contested for centuries, and only recently has this circle expanded to include women, African Americans, LGBTQ+ people, and others. Conservatives complain that liberalism empties the common life of meaning. As the renowned political philosopher Francis Fukuyama shows in Liberalism and Its Discontents , the principles of liberalism have also, in recent decades, been pushed to new extremes by both the right and the neoliberals made a cult of economic freedom, and progressives focused on identity over human universality as central to their political vision. The result, Fukuyama argues, has been a fracturing of our civil society and an increasing peril to our democracy. In this short, clear account of our current political discontents, Fukuyama offers an essential defense of a revitalized liberalism for the twenty-first century.

Explore how the internet is transforming the English language in "Because Internet". Online conversations unfold based on the structure of our apps and platforms, giving rise to new slang and jargon that spread at dizzying speeds. Linguist Gretchen McCulloch delves into the forces that shape human language and the ways in which we communicate. Discover why emoji resemble physical gestures, how animal memes spread using disordered language, and more. If you've ever wondered about the evolution of language in the digital age, this book is a must-read.

The first English-language book to document the men who emerged from the gulags to become Russia’s much-feared crime the vory v zakone...