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James Piereson has an excellent piece in The American Spectator that summarizes the history of liberalism in America over the past 100+ years and where liberalism is logically leading us. It is a fairly long piece but well woth reading. He quite clearly catalogs where liberalism in America came from and make a pretty good argument about where it is going and how the current political climate and backlash is a logical consequence of past policies. This is what I thought was the best and truest passage in the whole piece:
But make no mistake: the century-long revolution engineered by liberalism has succeeded in overturning the institutional prescriptions of the ancient Constitution. A constitution designed to limit the central government has now been turned into one that empowers it to act in just about every area of life. Liberalism has by stages taken aim at one or another of the institutional pillars of limited government — federalism, strict construction, separation of powers, public thrift — until today few are still left standing. Madison's “parchment barriers” have been blurred or obliterated to such an extent that today the only genuine limitation on national power is to be found in public opinion.
I dont think anyone can actually argue with that summation, especially the part I have put in bold italics.
The two themes are obviously connected because as people liberated themselves from religion, family obligations, and community norms, they had nowhere else to turn for protection but to the state. This is why conservatives saw instantly that “liberation” was a challenge to “liberty.”
Love it! This is absolutely, 100% right on.
Pretty good?? This piece is amazing.Ever since I took my Amer Lit class I wanted to write something about the rise of the left (since it became so prevalent in Lit from the 40s on), but now I don't have to.
The term is now used with a variety of meanings which have little in common beyond describing an openness to new ideas, including some which are directly opposed to those which are originally designated by it during the nineteenth and the earlier parts of the twentieth centuries.these are some quotations:
" Liberalism is a most important by-product of Rationalism, and its origins and ideology must be clearly shown. " Francis P. Yockey " Liberalism is an attitude rather than a set of dogmas - an attitude that insists upon questioning all plausible and self-evident propositions, seeking not to reject them but to find out what evidence there is to support them rather than their possible alternatives." Morris Raphael Cohen "Liberalism is financed by the dividends from Conservatism. " Craig Bruce " Liberalism is Rationalism in politics." Francis P. Yockey "Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear. " William E. Gladstone "A man who has both feet planted firmly in the air can be safely called a liberal as opposed to the conservative, who has both feet firmly planted in his mouth" Jacques Barzun
Those are examples of what would now be called Classical Liberalism. Modern Liberalism is in many ways its antithesis in its insistence on a dogmatic view of the world.
what a lovely piece! thanks .. 🙂it's not only amazing it's wow! ;D
Please allow me to ask you whether your nickname (صيدا) is relating to the city of Sa?da, Algeria or to Sidon, Lebanon or else
what a lovely piece! thanks .. 🙂it's not only amazing it's wow! ;D
Please allow me to ask you whether your nickname (صيدا) is relating to the city of Sa?da, Algeria or to Sidon, Lebanon or else
you're right I'm from Algeria, but my name is not (صيدا) , my name's ضاوية. a pure Algerian name... I'm not from Saida
