Liberal Literature (Jesus, evolve, America, churches, bible)

[Pariah]

I am interested in reading about the definition and application of liberalism and liberal politics, but I don't know which books would good for this.

Personally, I would enjoy an author who uses examples grounded in the context, rather than vague, abstract ideas about the philosophy. A historical approach would be interesting, viewing liberalism from its beginning and tracing its growth through the centuries.

Anything would be nice, actually, but the above are requested.

Thank you in advance.

[GeneCosta]

Are you looking for books associated with classical liberalism or contemporary liberalism?

[Pariah]

Both, actually - I was hoping to have a book discussing the history of Liberalism, that is, discussion about its origins as well as its practice and ideology through the centuries up till now. I'm not sure how up to date they might be, but I'm will to be surprised.

So... surprise me.

[GeneCosta]

That's a hard topic to come by. Classical liberalism evolved from the monarchies of Western Europe [classical conservatives] in favor of "liberal" representative democracies and capitalism. During the early part of the 20th century liberalism then shifteded in favor of mixed democracies and economies. The Left sped up during the 60s and collapsed in the latter half of the 70s, ushering in a period of New Right/Third Way politics. It's my belief we're now seeing a gradual move on the Left towards direct democracy/anarchy and socialism. The themes that tie liberalism thought together have been fairness and liberty, but the liberals of today [Chomsky, Kuchinich, King Jr.] are much different than their ancestors [Paine, Jefferson, Franklin].

The Virtues of Liberalism does a good job [so I've heard] at explaining the history of liberalism from the 1700s to the present-day and how the word has come to mean something altogether different, yet similar.

Encyclo of American Left talks about particular movements and leaders from the Civil War to today. I've actually read this one. It's interesting to get a perspective on issues outside of their timeframe such as gay rights, the feminist movement, socialism, labor, and how each issue progressed. It also talks about how the Left collapsed at the high point of the civil rights movement.

[Scuba Pete]

The ultimate root of Liberalism is found in the persona of Jesus, the Christ. Few Christians or churches have matched his liberal politics or lived up to his example of being concerned with the welfare of others.

[Pariah]

Originally Posted by Scuba Pete

The ultimate root of Liberalism is found in the persona of Jesus, the Christ. Few Christians or churches have matched his liberal politics or lived up to his example of being concerned with the welfare of others.

Somehow, I don't think reading the Bible will enlighten me to Liberalism.

Genecosta -
Thank you for your recommendations.