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Suicide of the West

An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism

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Suicide of the West

Written by: James Burnham
Narrated by: Phillip J. Sawtelle
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About this listen

William F. Buckley, Jr., perhaps best described the importance of this seminal work when he said, "James Burnham has written a book about Liberalism for which the world has been aching. It is worth more to the West than the year’s gross national product, more than all the planes and bombs…."

Through studious research into past civilizations, Burnham diagnoses the 20th century and finds it afflicted with destructive, even "suicidal" tendencies - all of which arise from the “Liberal syndrome” and its inherent applications.

The book explores several important questions, including why Liberalism clashes with Christianity and how Liberalism is a root cause of race riots and the rapid growth in crime. For James Burnham, who died in 1986, this book is certainly one of his greatest legacies.

©1985 1986 by James Burnham (P)1988 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Political Science Social Sciences

What the critics say

"This somber, brilliantly written book attempts to fix the blame for the suicidal ‘contraction of the West’ over the last fifty years upon Liberalism, chiefly in the United States…It is at the same time a venture into the philosophy of history and an indictment of those responsible for the present disastrous plight of once triumphant Western civilization." ( National Review)

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Profile Image for M. Yakiwchuk

An historically important book

While not everything James Burnham covers about Liberalism has come to pass, and indeed, Liberalism itself has changed since he wrote this book in the 1960’s, much of what he reveals about Liberalism was and is true, and the West on the whole remains perched precariously as a civilization on the brink of collapse. As Burnham writes in this book, the main threats to our civilization are from within, not from without. I recommend listening to this book in Audible format for its historical significance, relevance today, and the current unfortunately high cost of paperback and hardback editions. Recommended. 5/5

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