THE NEW LEVIATHANS

In a challenging book, an esteemed philosopher examines how liberalism yielded to a totalitarianism impulse.

Gray is emeritus professor of European thought at the London School of Economics and a prolific author. In his latest, he gathers a number of the themes he has pursued throughout his life and work. He uses Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan as a starting point, explaining how Hobbes believed that a powerful government was necessary to protect people from one another and from external enemies—and nothing more. In the past century, however, we have seen the rise of the “New Leviathans,” who want to go much further, to “become engineers of souls.” Gray looks at the attempts of the Soviet leaders to mold people and at how that pattern was adopted by Putin. It justifies a totalitarian level of control, all in the name of the greater good. There is a similar pattern in China, with leaders who see themselves as fulfilling a quasi-divine purpose. A related strain of thinking Gray labels as “hyper-liberalism,” which “vulgarizes post-modern philosophy.” Though “enclaves of freedom persist…a liberal civilization based on the practice of tolerance has passed into history,” writes the author. “In schools and universities, education inculcates conformity with the ruling progressive ideology. The arts are judged by whether they serve approved political goals.” Gray questions the obsession with race and slavery, noting that slavery and racism have had many faces throughout history, and he views as arrogant the idea that the American experience represents a universal experience. Gray does not provide an easy solution, but he sees an obligation to fight totalitarianism in whatever way we can. He concludes: “If we go on, it is because we cannot do otherwise. It is life that pulls us on, against the tide, life that steers us into the storm.”

Dense with provocative ideas—a solid choice for budding political philosophers.