Fudan-LSE Lecture Series No.85

Title

Beyond the Post-Liberal critique — Why Conservatism has Failed

Speaker

Prof. Paul Kelly, LSE

Host

Prof. Yijia Jing, Fudan IGPP

Discussant

Prof. Gangsheng Bao, Fudan SIRPA

Prof. Xi Lin, Fudan IAS

Time

10:10-11:15, April 7th, Tuesday, 2026

Venue

Room 805E, 8th Floor, West Sub-building of Guanghua Towers

https://v.wjx.cn/vm/Ot30MnZ.aspx#

The Speaker：

Prof. Paul Kelly 

Paul Kelly is Professor of Political Theory in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and a former Pro-Director. He is the author and editor of twenty books and has edited and co-edited two Journals. His most recent publications are Against Post-Liberalism: Why Faith, Family and Flag is a Dead End for the Left (Polity 2025), and Conflict, War and Revolution (LSE Press 2022). His current work is on the prospects for liberal political theory in the current political climate and seeks to address and critique the familiar criticisms of a liberal order. He is currently completing two books Why Conservatism Failed and Order, Justice and the Common Good. His longer-term project is tentatively entitled Augustinian Liberalism.

Abstract:

In this lecture I will develop the argument of my most recent book Against Post-Liberalism, which was the subject of a recent IGPP lecture and develop its conclusions for the future of conservatism as a political ideology in the US and UK. In particular I will respond to and develop my argument in light of that of Matt Sleat in his recent book Post-Liberalism, and will then outline my own critique of the candidates for a conservative ideology emerging in those countries. My argument will comprise turning the argument of Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed back onto the conservative movement and then explore how the potential reconfigurations of the conservative movement in both countries necessarily fail on their own terms or have abandoned any pretence at conservatism through their rationalist recovery of a right-wing radicalism.