In a lecture students called “surprisingly” nonpartisan, author and journalist Peter Beinart argued last night before an audience of 150 that politicians must revive liberal ideals of the 1950s in order to “Make America great again.”

In June, Beinart published “The Good Fight: Why Liberals — and Only Liberals — Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again,” which argues the views of 1950s liberals offer the best framework for improving U.S. foreign policy.

According to Beinart, liberals during the Cold War wanted to lead internationally by fixing social injustices at home. Last night, he called on Americans and liberals to set a good example.

“The great challenge of today’s liberals will be to rebuild the international institutions of the 1990s,” he said.

Despite the overtly liberal slant of the speech on the speech’s title, Beinart criticized both sides of the political spectrum.

“I was surprised how objective he seemed,” CAS sophomore Paul Hansen said.

College Republicans President Joe Mroszczyk said he was also surprised by the scarce liberal bias in Beinart’s lecture.

“He was actually more critical of liberals than I thought he’d be,” the CAS senior said.

The Howard Gotlieb Archival Center sponsored the event. Director Vita Paladino invited Beinart to BU after hearing him speak at Harvard University. She said she invited him to speak because he could relate to students and faculty and stimulate debate.

“He’s a peer of faculty and a role model for the students,” she said.

Paladino said the Gotlieb Center will sponsor two conservative speakers in October, including a British biographer of Henry Kissinger on Oct. 24.

Before the lecture, Beinart, an editor-at-large for The New Republic, signed and sold copies of his book at the entrance of Metcalf Hall.

Beinart said he was inspired to write the book after the 2004 elections.

“It was really my frustration of John Kerry’s loss,” Beinart said after the event.

He began the lecture by outlining the original foreign-policy views of conservatives and liberals at the start of the Cold War and said liberals of this time period “did not want America to have unrestrained power.”

After his lecture, Beinart answered 13 audience questions on a wide variety of topics, from the role of religion in democracy to the economics of the current international situation.

“It was a long time coming,” College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Crystal Molina said of Beinart’s message.

While Mroszczyk said he disagreed with the topic of Beinart’s book, he decided to attend last night’s event “to hear the other side of the debate.”

College of Communication freshman Evelyn Ratigan said she came after receiving an email and wanted to hear specific details of Beinart’s book.

“It [would] be interesting if he actually had some real solutions [to the United States’ foreign policy issues],” she said before the lecture.

After Beinart spoke, however, CAS senior David Romanik said he thought Beinart “didn’t offer any solutions.”

“I think he makes a very provocative point,” Paladino said. “I thought it would be very important for our students and faculty to hear what he has to say.”