Center for the Future of Liberal Society

Hudson Institute’s Center for the Future of Liberal Society aims to influence the public and policy discussion on a set of extraordinary and interrelated challenges. With the advent of rapid technological change, the United States faces an extended economic and social transformation. Virtually every institution from the family to the state to the corporation can expect wave after wave of challenges. These changes are not confined to the United States; they are taking place around the world, and in the United States as elsewhere, the uncertainty and upheaval associated with these changes threatens to undermine support for the principles of liberal society. Additionally, the political consequences of these changes weaken public support for liberal society in the United States and abroad, and in the United States they contribute to an erosion in support for America’s role as the centerpiece of world order.

Meanwhile, with the “end of the end of history,” the world has entered a new period of geopolitical competition and great power rivalry. Major powers like China and Russia seek to overturn the post-Cold War world order. Smaller powers like Iran and North Korea seek to weaken the international system as well. From within and without, liberal societies face growing challenges that require new thinking and a renewed commitment.

The Center for the Future of Liberal Society believes that these problems are interconnected. To be strong and united enough to resist the forces of revisionist and authoritarian global challengers, the liberal and democratic world must adapt to technological change in ways that promote human flourishing.