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1/ So, by popular demand - the "what's wrong with Liberalism" thread.
People keep telling me I'm using 'Liberalism' wrong, that what I *mean* to say when I criticize the state of our culture is something like:
wokeism
leftism
runaway cultural marxism
CT & CRT, etc.
People keep telling me I'm using 'Liberalism' wrong, that what I *mean* to say when I criticize the state of our culture is something like:
wokeism
leftism
runaway cultural marxism
CT & CRT, etc.
2/ But my 'splainers are wrong, I do mean Liberalism.
Liberalism is one of these moldbuggian magic words, like democracy and human rights that only puppy murderers could oppose.
I often hear from the anti-wokes on the left and right is that liberalism, liberally applied...
Liberalism is one of these moldbuggian magic words, like democracy and human rights that only puppy murderers could oppose.
I often hear from the anti-wokes on the left and right is that liberalism, liberally applied...
3/ is the answer to our problems, and if we could just rid the world of illiberalism, which seems to be an endless and accelerating whack-a-mole game, we'd be golden.
The problem is that Liberalism is water.
It's been the guiding framework for so long that we can't see it.
The problem is that Liberalism is water.
It's been the guiding framework for so long that we can't see it.
4/ Both the left and right are liberal, in the sense that they are committed to liberating the individual.
The right represents 'classical liberalism'/libertarianism, where the idea is that the individual needs to be free to pursue prosperity through the market - freedom *from*
The right represents 'classical liberalism'/libertarianism, where the idea is that the individual needs to be free to pursue prosperity through the market - freedom *from*
5/ The left represents progressive liberalism, where the individual is free from the "arbitrary" constraints of society, like sexual mores and various taboos.
Freedom here consists of freedom *to* access sustenance, healthcare, education, jobs, and, currently, also public esteem
Freedom here consists of freedom *to* access sustenance, healthcare, education, jobs, and, currently, also public esteem
6/ The right, in its conservative dimension, has no ideological leg to stand on in liberal "water".
Religiosity was somewhat of an anchor, but now, most conservatives are just liberals who have an inkling about the precautionary principle and a '50s aesthetic.
Religiosity was somewhat of an anchor, but now, most conservatives are just liberals who have an inkling about the precautionary principle and a '50s aesthetic.
7/ Conservatives are always just a few years behind any new progressive trend.
This is no vision, so they lose on culture every time.
Nobody likes the guy showing up 10 minutes late, cap in hand, mumbling objections, but getting with the program.
This is no vision, so they lose on culture every time.
Nobody likes the guy showing up 10 minutes late, cap in hand, mumbling objections, but getting with the program.
8/ Liberalism, in both its classical and progressive variants, is essentially a prioritization of "optimizing for the individual".
Conservatives optimize for the producer/consumer.
Liberals optimize for the experiencer/body.
Conservatives optimize for the producer/consumer.
Liberals optimize for the experiencer/body.
9/ You get what you optimize for, and if this is the prime optimization function - individual utility - the result is 2020.
This leaves out considerations of the collective, which used to be a guiding light, but are now anathema because they fail the test of universalism.
This leaves out considerations of the collective, which used to be a guiding light, but are now anathema because they fail the test of universalism.
10/ So, why do I insist on poking this sacred cow?
If we don't see the water, we can't address why it's all of a sudden so muddy.
It's not sudden.
The mud was here all along.
We've just reached the point where it's not easy to ignore anymore.
If we don't see the water, we can't address why it's all of a sudden so muddy.
It's not sudden.
The mud was here all along.
We've just reached the point where it's not easy to ignore anymore.
