Conclusion: Liberty after Liberalism
This book concludes with a discussion of the failures of liberalism and how the “Noble Lie” of liberalism continues to be believed and defended by those who benefit from it. It envisions two scenarios: the perpetuation of liberalism that, becoming fully itself, operates in forms opposite to its purported claims about liberty, equality, justice, and opportunity; and the end of liberalism, to be replaced by another regime. It also outlines three steps to avoid the grimmer scenarios of a life after liberalism. First, the achievements of liberalism must be acknowledged, and the desire to “return” to a preliberal age must be abandoned. Second, we must outgrow the age of ideology. Third, out of such experience and practice, a better theory of politics and society might ultimately emerge. The book also emphasizes the theory of consent as one of liberalism's most damaging fictions and explains how we can build a counter-anticulture.