Sohrab Ahmari – författare

''A serious - and seriously readable - book about the deep issues that our shallow age has foolishly tried to dodge'' - Douglas Murray''A crystal-clear analysis of the multiple failures of "me-first" contemporary liberalism'' - Giles FraserFor millennia, philosophical, ethical and theological reflection was commonplace among the intellectually curious. But the wisdom that some of the greatest minds across the centuries continue to offer us remains routinely ignored in our modern pursuit of self-fulfilment, economic growth and technological advancement.Sohrab Ahmari, the influential Op-Ed editor at the New York Post, offers a brilliant examination of our postmodern Western culture, and an analysis of the paradox at its heart: that the ''freedoms'' we enjoy - to be or do whatever we want, subject only to consent, with everything morally neutral or relative - are at odds with the true freedom that comes from the pursuit of the collective good.Rather than the insatiable drive to satisfy our individual appetites, this collective good involves self-sacrifice and self-control. It requires us to diminish so that others may grow. What responsibility do we have to our parents? Should we think for ourselves? Are sexual ethics purely a private matter? How do we justify our lives? These, and other questions - explored in the company of a surprising range of ancient and contemporary thinkers - reveal how some of the most ancient moral problems are as fresh and relevant to our age as they were to our ancestors.By plumbing the depths of each question, the book underscores the poverty of our contemporary narratives around race, gender, privilege (and much else), exposing them as symptoms of a deep cultural crisis in which we claim a false superiority over the past, and helps us work our way back to tradition, to grasp at the thin, bare threads in our hands, while we still can.

Liberties, a Journal of Culture and Politics, is essential reading for those engaged in the cultural and political issues of our time. Liberties, is a collection of the most significant writers today as well as launching the voices of tomorrow.

In this issue of Liberties: Cynthia Ozick on the power of Philip Roth; Linda Kinstler on the Need for Oblivion; Michael Ignatieff’s History of My Privileges; Timothy Noah offers a Prayer for the Administrative State; Sohrab Ahmari on the Poverty of Catholic Intellectual Life; Yaroslav Hrytsak on Ukraine and Liberal Nationalism; David Rieff on Populism, Peronism, and Madness in Argentina; Len Gutkin investigates if studying Humanities is Too Traumatic?; Elliot Ackerman in Mercenaries, provides a guide through history and current practice and risks of governments using private armies; the great pianist Alfred Brendel on his love of Mozart; Arash Azizi on Persecution and the Art of Filmmaking in Iran; Michael Kimmage on Why Art Needs Impurity; Helen Vendler on Walt Whitman’s Poetic PTSD ; Celeste Marcus on Reason, Treason and Palestine; Leon Wieseltier on Giving and Forgiving; and, new poetry by Alice Gribbin and Camille Ralphs.

Published quarterly, Liberties: Culture & Politics features serious, independent, stylish, and controversial essays by significant writers and introduces the next generation of writers and poets to inspire and impact the intellectual and creative lifeblood of today’s culture and politics. Nobel Prize winners, leading op-ed writers, well-known non-fiction writers, rising talents, and poets from around the world are part of the Liberties series.

There’s a reason why engaged citizens, cultural warriors, political leaders, opinion makers, and activists from across the cultural and political spectrum read and cherish Liberties.