2024 C.B. Macpherson Prize
Winner: Menaka Philips
The Liberalism Trap. John Stuart Mill and Customs of Interpretation (Oxford University Press, 2023)
Excerpt from jury report: The Liberalism Trap is a compelling work of intellectual political history that challenges the dominant interpretation of John Stuart Mill as a paradigmatic liberal thinker. Philips convincingly counters the hegemonic image of Mill as driven by ideological certainties. Instead, she paints a picture of Mill as a cautionary radical—a thinker of uncertainty—through her engagement with the often-overlooked Autobiography and through a fine comparative reading of Mill’s writings. With its evocative prose and rigorous analysis, The Liberalism Trap is a groundbreaking examination of liberalism, and of the man most associated with it.