Mutual Exchange Radio Matthew McManus on Liberal Socialism
Sep 22, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Matthew McManus, a political theorist and incoming assistant professor at Spelman College, delves into the intriguing world of liberal socialism. He explores the historical roots of socialism and its diverse traditions, while defending the viability of liberal socialism against common critiques. McManus also traces the influences of figures like Hobbes and Locke, discussing their roles in shaping modern thought. The conversation culminates in a debate on Nordic socialism's pluralistic approach, balancing economic democracy with social welfare.
02:17:58
Liberalism As A Family
- McManus defines liberalism as a family of views committed to liberty and equality, sometimes solidarity, not a single doctrine.
- This plural framing explains why some liberals emphasize fraternity while others reject it.
Socialism Beyond State Ownership
- McManus locates socialism at social ownership of production but stresses many non-statist forms existed historically.
- He highlights worker control and Nordic pluralistic ownership as viable socialist variants.
Core Commitments Of Liberal Socialism
- Liberal socialists combine normative individualism (focus on real individuals) with methodological collectivism (humans flourish socially).
- They endorse development ethics and economic democracy within a liberal rights framework.
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Intro
00:00 • 1min
Defining Liberalism's Family of Views
01:20 • 2min
The 'Liberalism of Fear' and Its Roots
03:22 • 4min
What Socialism Means Historically
07:16 • 2min
Socialists' Developmental Ethic vs. Utopianism
09:40 • 5min
Is 'Liberal Socialism' an Oxymoron?
14:57 • 3min
Core Principles of Liberal Socialism
17:38 • 4min
Hobbes' Influence on Liberal Thought
21:20 • 9min
Locke on Selfhood, Rights, and Workmanship
30:28 • 6min
Thomas Paine's Proto-Liberal Socialism
36:07 • 5min
Wollstonecraft's Demystification of Authority
40:37 • 11min
John Stuart Mill's Move Toward Socialism
51:49 • 5min
Marx's Complex Relationship with Liberalism
57:06 • 10min
Reconciling Marx's Democratic and Centralist Strains
01:06:38 • 4min
Chantal Mouffe and Left Populism's Dangers
01:10:52 • 6min
Emotion, Narrative, and Building Solidarity
01:16:58 • 4min
Shortcomings: Race and Liberalism's Blind Spots
01:20:40 • 4min
Major Weaknesses of Liberal Socialism
01:24:16 • 4min
Antistatism and Thresholds of Property Power
01:28:25 • 4min
Methodological Individualism vs. Collectivism
01:32:35 • 6min
Lockean Property: Natural, Social, or Contingent?
01:38:08 • 12min
Practical Alternatives: Nordic Experimentalism
01:50:34 • 10min
Comparative Institutions, Nationalism, and Exclusion
02:00:53 • 4min
Defending Nordic Solidarity Against Volkish Critiques
02:04:35 • 10min
Pluralism, Cooperatives, and Anti-Statist Strains
02:14:33 • 2min
Outro
02:16:55 • 45sec
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Today my guest is Matthew McManus. Matt McManus is an incoming assistant professor of political theory at Spellman College. He is the author of The Political Right and Equality as well as The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism, which we are discussing today. McManus sees himself as engaging in a project of retrieval of a forgotten tradition of thought within the liberal tradition which advocates for socialist ends. This is a project with which I have some affinity as a liberal anarchist, but I have some big disagreements with how he sees the difference between liberal socialists and other more pro-market liberals as well as the institutional form he thinks liberal socialism should take: a form of statist social democracy. You will see us get into those disagreements at the end of the discussion.
Show Notes
Matthew McMannus, The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism
Jason Lee Byas, Radical Liberalism: The Soul of Libertarianism
Judith Shklar, The Liberalism of Fear
Charles Taylor, Modern Social Imaginaries
David Dyzenhaus, Hobbes and the Law
Thomas Paine, Rights of Man
Thomas Paine, Agrarian Justice
Isaac Kramnick, The Rage of Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke, A Vindication of Natural Society
Helen McCabe, John Stuart Mill, Socialist
Chris Matthew Sciabarra, Hayek, Marx, and Utopia
Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program
David Prychitko, Marxism and Workers' Self-Management: The Essential Tension
Karl Marx, The Civil War in France
Gary Chartier, Radicalizing Rawls
Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right
FA Hayek, Individualism True and False
Gus Dizerga, Outgrowing Methodological Individualism
Tony Smith, Beyond Liberal Egalitarianism
Kevin Carson, Studies in Mutualist Political Economy
David Beito, From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State
Fabio Perocco, Racism In and For the Welfare State
Quinn Slobodian, Hayek's Bastards
Kjell Östberg, The Rise and Fall of Swedish Social Democracy
Pelle Dragsted, Nordic Socialism
John Rawls, Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy
Karl Marx, Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy
Wendy Brown, Walled States: Waning Sovereignty