Hyper-capitalism and extreme identity politics are driving us to distraction。 Both destroy the basis of a common life shared across ages and classes。 The COVID-19 crisis could accelerate these tendencies further， or it could herald something more hopeful: a post-liberal moment。

Adrian Pabst argues that now is the time for an alternative - postliberalism - that is centred around trust， dignity， and human relationships。 Instead of reverting to the mutual suspicion and destabilising inhumanity of 'just-in-time' free-market globalisation， we could build a politics upon the sense of localism and community spirit， the valuing of family， place and belonging， which was a real theme of lockdown。 We are not obliged to put up with the restoration of a broken status quo that erodes trust， undermines institutions and trashes our precious natural environment。 We could build a pluralist democracy， decentralise the state， and promote mutualist markets embedded in the everyday economy。

This bold book shows that only a politics which fuses economic justice with social solidarity and ecological balance can overcome our deep divisions and save us from authoritarian backlash。​