Liberalism That Wins
Available October 1st, 2025
Starting with the Science of Human Behaviour — A New Framework for Democratic Thought
A book for political leaders, thinkers, and practitioners, addressing the central problem of democratic politics: the absence of a coherent and compelling vision of the future.
As a connective work — at the intersection of political philosophy, neuroscience, moral psychology, and institutional design — it can reconnect the centre, strengthen democracy against illiberal movements, and build a vision people can trust.
Liberal Democracy is in Crisis
We Know The Liberal Model is Failing —
But We Lack a Clear Path to Renewal
Collapsing Trust
Liberal democracy is in retreat. Inequality is deepening, trust in institutions is collapsing, and illiberal movements are filling the vacuum.
Trapped in Old Assumpions
A Centre Without a Vision
For decades, our politics has run on a post-war consensus that no longer matches reality — overextended, outdated, and incapable of solving today’s crises.
The political centre has lost its moral conviction and vision, leaving citizens with a false choice between broken orthodoxy and illiberal extremes.
Our Process
Revisit the
Fundamentals
Apply Modern
Scientific Findings
Develop a more human framework
Political movements are, in essence, descriptions of purpose, form, direction, and identity.
By returning to these questions, we can lay a foundation that is both stable and coherent.
Converging research in neuroscience, psychology, and anthropology shows how human beings form trust, fairness, cooperation, and belonging. Using these findings as a basis for design moves politics beyond ideology toward evidence.
Institutions last when they feel legitimate. By aligning with innate moral preferences, we create systems that are trusted, more stable in crisis, and better able to deliver flourishing lives.
This framework builds on decades of research across a wide array of scientific fields.
Legitimacy Begins in Emotion
Innate Moral Preferences
Moral Alignment
Drives Legitimacy
Stability and Competitiveness
People experience legitimacy as a feeling before they rationalise it. Institutions are judged through alignment with basic moral preferences — fairness, trust, care, and belonging — which shape whether citizens feel included and respected.
When political systems reflect these preferences, they secure more than passive consent. They generate active commitment — the sense that the system is ours, worth defending and sustaining. This emotional legitimacy is the foundation of durable authority.
Political systems experienced as legitimate are stronger and more adaptive. They avoid the costs of coercion, foster cooperation, and unlock human potential — producing greater stability at home and competitiveness abroad.
From Insight to Institutional Design
By finding a firmer foundation for political form, this book gives reformers, thinkers, and engaged citizens the tools to:
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Diagnose with clarity — identify where existing systems fail to align with human needs and moral expectations.
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Reframe politics — move debate beyond ideology, grounding it in evidence about how people actually live and cooperate.
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Design for legitimacy — build institutions that feel fair, foster belonging, and encourage voluntary cooperation.
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Enable renewal — create systems that adapt over time, strengthening resilience against illiberal drift and systemic failure
About the Author
Nathan J. Murphy is a political thinker and philosopher working at the intersection of political theory, science, and philosophy. His work explores how evidence-based thinking can strengthen democracy in an age of crisis. He is the author of The Ideas That Rule Us and founder of Prepolitica — an organisation that applies science to political renewal.
Scientific Framing
& Methodology
Connecting Diverse Fields
Liberalism That Wins is a connective work — bridging political philosophy, empirical science, and practical design. It brings together insights from moral psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, and liberal theory to propose a coherent framework for democratic renewal.
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It advances Scientific Liberalism — a framework that grounds social organisation in an empirically validated account of human moral instincts.
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Theoretical Contribution: Reinterprets liberal political philosophy through the lens of evolved moral psychology, offering a biologically grounded refinement of the social contract tradition.
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Methodology: Draws on converging evidence from neuroscience, behavioural genetics, anthropology, and moral cognition to identify four innate moral preferences — fairness, care, cooperation, and group preference.
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Empirical Basis: Synthesises findings across disciplines to argue that political systems achieve legitimacy and stability when they align with these evolved instincts.
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Positioning in the Literature: Engages with and extends the work of Shklar, Dworkin, Haidt, Sen, Nussbaum, Sandel, Henrich, and others, while addressing anticipated objections concerning determinism, cultural relativism, and naturalistic fallacy.
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Practical Application: Offers a design framework for institutional reform and a policy cycle (Assess, Align, Act, Adapt) aimed at democratic renewal.
FAQ
Please note, the book includes a detailed theoretical positioning and answers to anticipated objections.
Q: Is this just another version of technocratic liberalism?
A: No. Technocracy optimises for outcomes. Scientific Liberalism designs for felt legitimacy — grounded in how humans actually process fairness, care, and group belonging.
Q: Isn’t this biologically reductionist?
A: Not at all. It uses evolved instincts as a foundation, but recognises that cultures build on them in diverse, complex ways.
Q: Is this Western-centric?
A: Scientific Liberalism is psychologically universal — it offers a flexible design logic, not a fixed ideological program.
Q: Does it reject traditional liberal values?
A: It honours them — but re-roots them in moral psychology to make them more resilient, persuasive, and legitimate