Book review: The Antidote

Book review, by Dr Elizabeth Morrow, November 2025.

The Antidote, by Peter Beresford, OBE. Publisher: Policy Press / Bristol University Press. Published May 28, 2025. 256 pages. ISBN: 9781447375449 (paperback)

Peter Beresford’s most recent book The Antidote addresses what he articulates as one of the defining contradictions of the early twenty-first century: that we live in a period marked by unprecedented technological capability and global interconnectedness, yet face intensifying human-made crises. Environmental degradation, social inequality, global health threats, political polarisation, cultural fragmentation and recurrent conflict all continue to escalate despite the knowledge and resources ostensibly available to reduce these harms.

Beresford locates the causes of these crises within the long ascendancy of neoliberal ideology, which he argues has reshaped economic, political and social life in profoundly anti-democratic ways. Far from being a neutral or technical framework, neoliberalism is presented as a worldview that prioritises competition, individualism and market rationality at the expense of solidarity, care and shared responsibility. The consequences, he suggests, include a systematic devaluing of diversity and a weakening of the social bonds that make democratic life possible.

In the opening section of the book, Beresford outlines what he terms neoliberalism’s destructive agenda, tracing its effects on climate, culture, health and communities. He demonstrates how this ideology has hollowed out democratic institutions, contributed to rising insecurity, and exacerbated inequalities that leave many feeling politically excluded and socially alienated.

Rather than treating contemporary crises as disconnected phenomena, he situates them within shared structural conditions that disproportionately harm marginalised groups. This analytical framing not only clarifies the complex landscape of modern crises but also makes the book particularly useful at a historical moment characterised by widespread disillusionment and uncertainty. Beresford’s account offers a coherent lens through which to understand the fragmentation and instability that are often experienced as overwhelming or inexplicable.

A noteworthy strength of the book is its recognition of the ubiquity of barriers, disadvantage and discrimination within the society we inhabit. Beresford stresses that many people, across lines of disability, poverty, mental distress, race, gender, age and other forms of inequality, encounter constraints that have social rather than personal origins. By foregrounding a societal view, he challenges the neoliberal tendency to individualise circumstances and responsibility. His analysis resonates strongly in the present context, in which experiences of precarity, distancing and marginalisation are increasingly widespread but often obscured by divisive public narratives, accusations and blame. The book is helpful precisely because it reframes experiences of barriers in society as common, shared and structural, opening up possibilities for collective action rather than individualised suffering.

Against this oppressive backdrop, Beresford identifies people-powered movements as a promising and timely antidote to the poisons of the present. He highlights the transformative potential of grassroots activism, user-led organisations and collective action grounded in lived experience. These movements, he argues, offer practical and imaginative assets for renewing democratic life. They model forms of participation that are inclusive, relational and rooted in the realities of those most affected by policy decisions. At a historical moment when trust in political institutions is low and perceptions of powerlessness are gripping whole nations, Beresford’s attention to these movements is both inspiring and constructive. He shows that alternatives to dominant systems are not merely theoretical; they are already emerging within communities and networks based on cooperation, mutual support, and social justice. 

Central to Beresford’s vision is an anti-oppressive politics anchored in participation, empowerment, inclusion and equity. He argues for valuing lived experience as a critical source of expertise and for building equal alliances between communities, practitioners and policymakers. This approach is particularly compelling today, when calls for democratic renewal and greater public involvement in policy-making are increasingly prominent. The book is helpful in that it not only critiques existing systems but also offers a principled and practical framework for feeding alternatives rather than fears.

Importantly, Beresford acknowledges that meaningful change requires both bottom-up and top-down engagement. He advocates a productive meeting between grassroots action and supportive public policy- a model that avoids romanticising community initiatives while also rejecting technocratic or paternalistic state approaches. This balanced perspective is especially valuable in the contemporary context, where polarised debates often reduce political change to an either/or choice between state intervention and local activism. Beresford’s emphasis on partnership provides a more nuanced and negotiable pathway forward.

Ultimately, The Antidote is both a timely critique of neoliberalism and an inspiring call for a different kind of politics that people can engage with. It offers not only diagnosis but direction, inviting readers to imagine and participate in more equitable, democratic and caring forms of social organisation. At a point in history marked by uncertainty, fragmentation and a deep desire for alternatives, the book’s insistence on the power of collective action and lived experience is not only relevant but essential. Beresford provides a framework that is intellectually rigorous, politically grounded and deeply humane, making The Antidote a significant and encouraging contribution to contemporary debates about democracy, social justice and our everyday choices about the future of public life.