Reflecting on Cold War Liberalism with Samuel Moyn

On the Frontlines of Democracy

Host Sanjay Ruparelia and Samuel Moyn discuss the evolution of liberalism, particularly during the Cold War. Moyn says that Cold War liberalism betrayed the emancipatory ideals of earlier liberals by focusing on negative liberty over positive liberty. He also highlights the contradictions in Cold War liberal thought, such as their pessimism about global freedom and their support for Israel. He also suggests that modern liberalism must reinvent itself to address current challenges, including rising inequalities and authoritarian populism, by revisiting and reviving the emancipatory ideals of historical liberalism.

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Host: Sanjay Ruparelia, Jarislowsky Democracy Chair and Associate Professor of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Guest: Samuel Moyn, the Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. He has written many books analyzing the history of human rights and international law including his latest, Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times.

Background Reading:

Samuel Moyn’s Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times

Samuel Moyn’s The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History

Samuel Moyn’s Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World