A Liberal State- How Australians Chose Liberalism over Socialism 1926-1966 explores the revival of Australian political liberalism after the Great Depression of the 1930s, and its sweeping domestic political triumph after World War II over utopian socialism and Labor's statism.

Kemp examines how Australians reasserted their claim to control their own lives, following decades of expanded government control over economic and social life, and intrusive wartime and post-war restrictions.