A Politics of Friendship

Overview

The Institute for Humane Studies invites you to join us at the National Press Club on October 13 for a live recording of The Liberalism.org Show featuring Roger Berkowitz, director of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College and author of A World We Share: Hannah Arendt and the Power of Friendship in a Broken World (Yale University Press, 2026).

Today’s politics of division would have us believe that being on the side of truth is what matters most. Yet such politics destroy mutual respect and common agreement, the very foundations of liberal democracy. Renowned for her “genius for friendship,” Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) helps us rediscover a politics grounded in respect, open dialogue, and plurality. A politics of personal and civic friendship, she offers, creates a world we can share, even when we disagree fiercely.

The conversation with Professor Berkowitz explores how a politics of friendship can help sustain liberal democracy amid today’s partisan divisions. A limited number of books will be available for signing.