Der Ruf der Horde

Against the call of the Horde (Karl Popper), and against the globally rampant, primitive populism, Mario Vargas Llosa brings to mind the traditions of liberalism that have shaped, enriched, and guided him throughout his life – both as a political writer and as a writing politician.

For his political beliefs, the Peruvian Nobel laureate has faced decades of criticism, insults, and hostility – but what if he was right? And which thinkers and which books have contributed to these beliefs?

With essayistic vigor and analytical sharpness, Mario Vargas Llosa writes about his heroes of historical liberalism, including Adam Smith, José Ortega y Gasset, Friedrich Hayek, Karl Popper, Raymond Aron, Isaiah Berlin, and Jean-François Revel. For they have acquainted him with a very different way of thinking, one that always placed the individual above the horde, the nation, the class, or the party, and that has always defended free expression as a fundamental value for the flourishing of democracy.