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Sep 09, 2025
At a moment when liberalism is under siege — from a populist right that decries its institutions and a progressive left that doubts its promises — Cass Sunstein wants us to take a breath, look again, and remember what liberalism really is. His new book, On Liberalism: In Defense of Freedom, is not a nostalgic defense of the status quo, but a clear-eyed argument for the continued relevance of a political tradition built around pluralism, individual rights, and democratic self-rule.
In conversation with Maya Sweedler, Cass Sunstein — legal theorist, White House advisor, and prolific public intellectual — will examine liberalism not as an ideology frozen in time, but as a living framework that has evolved to meet the demands of an ever-changing society. They’ll dig into its essential commitments: free expression, the rule of law, tolerance for difference, and a belief in policy as a space for experimentation. They’ll also wrestle with liberalism’s critics — those who say it’s too compromised, too cautious, too tied to markets — and consider what liberalism might look like in a moment of democratic crisis.
In an era defined by polarization and institutional fragility, this conversation offers a reminder that liberalism, if taken seriously, may be the best defense we have of freedom itself.
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