All the Kingdoms of the World: A Tour

Here's a brief summary of my forthcoming book.

I started this blog in tandem with publishing my new book, All the Kingdoms of the World: On Radical Religious Alternatives to Liberalism. I want to take you through the book briefly to build interest.

But first, feel free to read a summary here. And, of course, buy the book! If you buy it from Oxford UP, it’s only $20.97! (What a price!)

All the Kingdoms of the World (now AKW) delves into faith-infused political movements worldwide. I deeply dive into the Catholic anti-liberalism movement, also known as Catholic integralism. I use integralism as a case study to understand the revival of faith-centered politics in the 21st century.

Big Reveals

1. AKW is not a defense of liberalism. I’ve done that (here, here, and here) and will do it again many times. I thought it best to evaluate Catholic integralism and other religious anti-liberalisms on their own terms. The book will take you through integralism and offer a purely internal critique of the view. Far too many anti-liberals get away with trashing liberalism and not submitting their own doctrines to similar scrutiny. I want to end this practice.

2. AKW defends integralism at length. Before I argue against integralism, I make the best case for it I can (pp. 53-117). I want you to take the doctrine seriously and honor my opponents.

3. AKW develops three arguments against integralism. This book does not give a battery of small arguments. I instead give three worked-out arguments. But, I have a slogan that summarizes them. Integralism: you can’t get there, you can’t stay there, and it’s unfair. Transitioning to integralism is infeasible or immoral; integralist societies will likely unravel owing to their own logic, and integralist regimes impose unjust coercion on many of their members.

4. AKW provides a general framework for assessing other religious anti-liberalisms from the inside. The final chapter carries out the project. My great regret about the book is that I didn’t discuss Hindu Nationalism, but that work will come in time. Still, I give Islamic and Confucian anti-liberalisms a fair shake.

AKW’s Table of Contents

Here’s the book’s table of contents.

A Brief Overview of AKW

In the introduction, I explain why contemporary faith-infused political movements matter. I also explain why they were bound to revive in some form or another.

Chapter 1 introduces you to integralist doctrine and the integralists themselves. They’re fun characters, so I introduce them through a few short narratives. I then review their doctrine in (I hope!) a clear and intriguing fashion.

Then I turn to defense in Chapter 2. Integralists might have Catholic history and church teaching on their side. I call this the History Argument. Chapter 3 argues that integralists have a coherent project. They think the state should promote the earthly common good and the eternal common good too. Most Catholic natural law views these days think the state should only promote the natural good. So integralism is, in a sense, more symmetrical in its treatment of the good. I call this the Symmetry Argument.

Next, I turn to critique. Chapter 4 analyzes the claim that integralism is infeasible. Vermeule has published some short pieces on integralist transition strategy. I offer a unified interpretation of these pieces as a transition strategy Vermeule calls integration from within. I then ask whether the plan is feasible given Catholic social teaching. The answer is that integralism is either infeasible but moral or feasible but immoral. I call this the Transition Argument. In sum, Integralism: you can’t get there.

Chapter 5 focuses on the integralist ideal. Here I address the work of Thomas Pink, Fr. Edmund Waldstein, Fr. Thomas Crean, and Alan Fimister. Integralists love to talk about order, but what sort of social order is integralism? How does such a society perpetuate itself over time? I argue that even an ideal integralist order is subject to internal contradictions. It is likely to unravel owing to its own commitments. Integralism is not a moral order. I call this the Stability Argument. In sum, Integralism: you can’t stay there.

Chapter 6 argues that integralism is unjust on its own terms. I’ve publicized this argument quite a bit already in public talks. Go here for one. The fundamental problem owes to the integralist doctrine of baptism. In their view, baptism licenses religious coercion of the baptized alone. I argue that this commitment is internally inconsistent. It treats the baptized unjustly and so unfairly. I call this the Justice Argument. In sum, Integralism: it’s unfair.

Critiques complete, I generalize the five arguments (History and Symmetry in favor, Transition, Stability, and Justice against). I apply the argument schema to anti-liberal doctrines in other faiths. I focus on contemporary Sunni Islamic political thought and contemporary Confucian anti-liberalism. In particular, I examine the ideas of Rached Ghannouchi and Jiang Qing.

I end by proposing ways liberals and anti-liberals can reconcile. I'll keep that concealed. Sort of.

Buy the Book! Only $20.97!

So, folks, there it is. I will raise integralism high before I break it down. AKW is awfully cheap for a work of political philosophy, political theology, and political economy all rolled into one. So, BUY MY BOOK. Let’s have some EXTREMELY NERDY fun.