The late 1940s proved to be a unique moment of optimism within a movement that had previously tended to adopt an apocalyptic tone. The trials and restrictions of the preceding de cade had fostered a sense that renewed contacts carried infi nite possibilities, and the prospect of establishing durable institutions inspired a sense of momentum that had remained elusive in the past. The central fi gures appeared to believe that fi nally, after years of broken contacts and projects conceived but left undone, it would be possible to commence the philosophical task they had established for themselves shortly before the onset of war. With all distractions and disruptions concluded, the real work of reconstructing liberalism could begin.

Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, loc. 219