This afternoon mini-colloquium will consider the following questions:
What is 'post-liberalism'?
What is the origin of this idea?
And how can we better understand our own political moment by grasping the genealogy of this idea?
Overview
'Liberalism is in crisis. Or so it seems. In the aftermath of Brexit and Trump’s election, a plethora of books and articles reporting the end of liberalism emerged from both ends of the political spectrum. While the majority of voices from the American left and mainstream right mourned this perceived decline, a new faction within the right saw it as an opening for envisioning a fresh political paradigm beyond the constraints of liberalism. Many of these right-wing thinkers and activists, with whom U.S. Vice-President J. D. Vance publicly identifies, call themselves postliberals. Yet the early uses of the term “postliberal” were strikingly different, denoting communitarian attempts to transcend liberal individualism rather than the illiberal rejection of liberal-democratic norms.'
-- Jacob Williams & João Pinheiro da Silva, 'Postliberalism: A Genealogy'.
Timetable
2 - 2.45pm, João Pinheiro da Silva (University of St. Andrews) and Jacob Williams (Oxford) will introduce their essay, 'Postliberalism: A Genealogy' (Telos, no. 212, 2025), why they wrote it, and what its thesis is.
2.45 - 3.30pm First response will be given by Professor John Milbank (Emeritus, Nottingham).
3.30 - 4pm Break for tea and coffee.
4 - 4.30pm Second response will be given by Professor Paul Kelly (London School of Economics), author of Against Postliberalism: Why 'Family, Faith and Flag' is a Dead End for the Left (Polity, 2025).
4.30 - 5.20pm panel discussion with all of the speakers, moderated by a chair, and Q&A with the audience.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our co-sponsors, the Telos Paul Piccone Institute and the Centre for Social Renewal, for making this event possible.
Our academic programme depends on the generosity of donors great and small. If you would like to support us, you may do so HERE.
Speakers
Professor Paul Kelly is Professor of Political Theory at the London School of Economics and a former Pro-Director of LSE. He is the author and editor of sixteen books, including Against Post-Liberalism: Why ‘Family, Faith and Flag’ is a Dead End for the Liberal Left (Polity Press, 2025).
Professor John Milbank is Professor Emeritus of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Nottingham, where he is also President of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy. He is author or co-author of nineteen books, and is co-author with Prof. Adrian Pabst of The Politics of Virtue: Post-Liberalism and the Human Future (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016).
Mr João Pinheiro da Silva is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of St Andrews, where he is researching the metaphysics of science and mereology. He aims to develop a new account of the unity of science that is hierarchical yet non-reductive, drawing mostly on neo-Aristotelian metaphysics.
Dr Jacob Williams is an incoming Postdoctoral Research Associate (academic year 2026-7) at Princeton University's James Madison Program, and has just completed a DPhil in political theory at Oxford University, where his research focused on postliberal critiques of liberal theory and practice.
Tickets
Attendance is free but registration is required. Please click on the 'Book Here' button or click here.
A limited number of tickets for the three-course dinner following the mini-colloquium are available for purchase here (£55).
If you are not able to attend in person, you may watch the live-stream using this link.
Please email mehmet.ciftci@stx.ox.ac.uk if you have any questions.
We are only able to host our academic programme thanks to the generosity of donors great and small. If you would like to support us, you may do so HERE.
