The Conservative Foundations of the Liberal Order: Defending Democracy Against Its Modern Enemies and Immoderate Friends

**"Mahoney covers a vast field with speed, brio, and pertinence, evoking nearly all the great questions of the hour."-Pierre Manent** **Saving Democracy from Its Enemies-and from Itself** Western democracy has become increasingly estranged from its crucial historical, political, spiritual, and cultural prerequisites-from what author Daniel J. Mahoney calls "the conservative foundations of the liberal order." In this eloquent and insightful work of political philosophy and cultural criticism, Mahoney offers a vigorous defense of these foundations, and shows the dangers of identifying liberty with a radical project of social and cultural emancipation. ***The Conservative Foundations of the Liberal Order***takes particular aim at partisans of "pure democracy," who have transformed the principles of liberty and equality into an unreflective dogma. By reducing liberty to a vague affirmation of equality and individual autonomy, Mahoney shows, such partisans undermine those "contents of life"-religion, patriotism, philosophical reflection, family and social life-that enrich human existence and give purpose to human freedom. What we need instead is a conservative-minded liberalism. Calling on the wisdom of Winston Churchill, Edmund Burke, Alexis de Tocqueville, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Raymond Aron, and other exemplary leaders and thinkers, Mahoney addresses a wide range of questions related to liberty in the contemporary world. He brilliantly analyzes the task of the democratic statesman; the need for prudence, sobriety, and civic courage in confronting the totalitarian enemies of the West; the ties that bind religion and democratic liberty; democracy's tendency to squander its own inheritance in frenzied efforts to establish a human order that is more and more "democratic"; the follies of the postmodern "culture of repudiation"; the reasons so many intellectuals indulge totalitarianism and terrorism; and much more. Rejecting the dual temptations of utopianism and despair, Mahoney defends self-government-properly understood-against both democracy's enemies and its all-too-numerous "immoderate friends." ***The Conservative Foundations of the Liberal Order*** upholds the rich civilized inheritance that allows human beings to lead free and decent lives together. ***What They're Saying...***"Mahoney knows more about these great Europeans than anyone else…his thoughtful and endlessly detailed appreciation for what they accomplished is unrivaled…Cherish this book as the most informed defense of a chastened liberalism written in a long time." **-***The American Conservative* "Mahoney is among our most insightful political thinkers…He brings intellectual rigor and clarity to our often simplistic conversation about liberal democracy." **-***City Journal* "Mahoney, author of an excellent work on Solzhenitsyn, explores the relationship between religion, freedom, and democracy. . . . Mahoney proves his case that a sense of limitation is necessary if the democratic ideal is not itself to become despotic in its pursuit of perfection." **-***National Review* "A wide-ranging and illuminating book." **-***First Things*