The Collapse of Global Liberalism: And the Emergence of the Post Liberal World Order

In the 1990s, a vision emerged of a frictionless world of globalization in which the West would become ever richer on the basis of a tech-based service economy, all underpinned by a rules-based liberal international order. It became the basis for the mainstream politics of centre-left and right.

A Critical Diagnosis of Liberalism’s Decline

Philip Pilkington argues that this vision was always delusional and is now dying. According to him, it is based on a doctrinaire and unrealistic form of liberalism that has led to:

• Hollowed-out financialised economies
• Disintegrating societies that can barely:
  • Reproduce their population
  • Meet their energy needs

The US and UK, Pilkington asserts, are ill-equipped to compete with China and other non-liberal states. These nations are thriving within an emerging post-liberal order, where success hinges on:

• Industrial capacity
• Realpolitik
• Military strength

A Bold Agenda for Renewal

Pilkington emphasizes that only by abandoning liberal delusions and advancing a hard-headed post-liberalism can the West hope to survive.

No clear-sighted observer of contemporary geopolitics can afford to miss this bracing diagnosis of the West’s malaise and bold vision for renewal.