The retrieval of liberal socialism

Liberalism has long been seen as at odds with socialism, the former deeming the latter to be a creed inherently hostile to freedom. This view is the target of Matthew McManus's stimulating and timely new book, The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism . The book's central, compelling claim is that liberal principles can only be fully realised in a society with the high degree of material and social equality offered by socialism. McManus explores this theme with a critical genealogy of ‘liberal socialists’, from Mary Wollstonecraft to John Rawls to Charles Mills, drawing inspiration from the critic of ‘possessive individualism’, C.B. Macpherson. The result is an illuminating study, notwithstanding some methodological and normative limitations.