The Liberalism Trap

In The Liberalism Trap, Menaka Philips identifies a methodological problem in contemporary political theory: preoccupations with liberalism have come to dominate the study of politics. To evaluate the effects of such preoccupations, Philips turns to John Stuart Mill--the so-called paradigmatic liberal. She shows not only that Mill's famed liberal status is habitually substituted for his political arguments, but also that this substitution obscures the role of uncertainty in Mill's political thought. Across his writings on women's emancipation, class reform, and British Empire, Philips recovers the uncertain strategies that inform Mill's politics, offering an innovative account that sets into relief the limits of reading through liberalism.