Until comparatively recently, there were three main ways of interpreting the history of modern American liberalism. Each was associated with a different school of historical thought. Scholars wrote about liberalism from either a progressive, a consensus or a New Left point of view and their analyses differed accordingly. Over the last few years, however, it has become possible to discern a fourth interpretation. Like the others, it reflects a particular way of viewing the past: in this case, from what might be described as a "neo-consensus " perspective. The purpose of the present essay is to assess the validity of this new interpretation. But first it is necessary to define it and explain the ways in which it differs from its predecessors
