Waleed Aly - On speech, equality and politics

In this wonderfully clarifying essay, Waleed Aly examines what happened to liberalism. As a set of ideas, it offered formal equality and guaranteed freedoms. But more and more, we live in a post-liberal world.

Aly looks at how and why this has happened. He discusses what has taken liberalism's place as we tackle thorny questions of freedom of speech and equality of opportunity. And he examines the limits of liberalism, the rise of illiberal democracy and the new battles over identity.

This is a supple and original essay about the forces transforming our politics.

Waleed Aly is a writer, academic, lawyer and broadcaster. He is a lecturer in politics at Monash University and a co-host of Network Ten’s The Project. He is the author of People Like Us and Quarterly Essay 37, What’s Right? With Scott Stephens, he co-hosts Radio National’s The Minefield program.