preliberal

English

Etymology

From pre- +‎ liberal.

Adjective

preliberal (not comparable)

1. Before the liberal period of society, i.e. in feudal or authoritarian times.

   Antonym: postliberal

   • 2007 June 18, Edward Rothstein, “Postmodern Thoughts, Illuminated by the Practices of a Premodern Tribe”, in New York Times‎:

     They were, then, preliberal, premodern.

   • 2018, Patrick J. Deneen, Why Liberalism Failed, New Haven: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 184:

     But if we hope to create a humane postliberal future, we cannot pretend that the age of liberalism did not happen or that its basic contours can simply be jettisoned in some sort of restoration of an idyllic preliberal age.