Across the world, politics is returning to an old and dangerous question: should the state help decide what makes a life worth living? Liberal democracies have long tried to hold back from that question, leaving individuals, families, and communities to pursue their own visions of the good life. But from Hungary and the United States to China, India, and Israel, powerful movements and regimes are again using law, education, welfare, culture, and public power to promote particular ideals of family, order, harmony, pride, sacrifice, and belonging.

In this lecture, Alexandre Lefebvre argues that liberalism’s rivals cannot be understood only through corruption, resentment, or authoritarianism. They are also offering moral visions — often attractive, sometimes noble, and frequently dangerous once backed by the state. The challenge for liberals is to answer these rival “good life states” without becoming one themselves.