These audio recordings are of the first of a series of lectures given at The New School by former United States senator and Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of Political Science Eugene McCarthy on the subject of the future of liberalism in America. In the first reel, New School Dean Allen Austill introduces McCarthy, who begins his address at 2:37. McCarthy discusses the balance of philosophy versus policy in liberal politics, liberalism and the law, the prospect of the death of liberalism, and language of partisanship.

In the second reel, McCarthy discusses the definition of liberalism and the concepts of freedom and morality. At the end of the lecture, McCarthy invites questions from the audience, the content of which is included in a subsequent recording.

The third and final reel contains the question and answer period. Only McCarthy's answers to the audience questions are audible. The topics of McCarthy's responses include: liberalism and conservatism versus illiberalism, liberalism versus radicalism and the use of language, the stance of liberal on the Vietnam War, freedom and the pursuit of happiness, the issue of privacy, and the increasing personalization of the presidency.