I have been a subscriber to the Economist for several years. It was begun as a platform for classical liberalism. I have enjoyed the publication and found it to be basically fair and balanced. It recently published a featured article called, The threat from the illiberal left. I think this is an important article and would recommend it and I would like to comment on it. Both in praise of the significance of the article and in my disappointment in that it does not propose an adequate plan to implement its main point which is the superiority of classical liberalism to help solve society’s many problems without anyone resorting to coercion. It is also disappointing that the article repeats the radical left’s talking points that Populists denigrate liberal edifices such as science and the rule of law which is not a correct general statement and adds nothing to the main point of the article. But I digress.
The primary point of the article is that it acknowledges the real threat to classical liberalism from a new pseudo liberalism which it labels as illiberal. The name correctly implies that it is an illegitimate liberalism. Classical liberalism believes in the rights of the individual, free speech and honest debate. The illiberal progressives, which is most prominent in the United States, is actually a totalitarian type of politics which employs tactics to enforce ideological purity, by no-platforming their enemies and cancelling allies who have transgressed. The Economist states this has echoes of the confessional state that dominated Europe before classical liberalism took root at the end of the 18th century.
How did these radical illiberal progressive concepts overtake classical liberalism? It began in the universities where classic liberalism once flourished. This was noted in an Economist related article in the same issue which stated that these notions were incubated for years in the humanities departments of universities (elite ones in particular), without serious challenge. It was naivety of the Americans and classical liberals, in general, that thought this movement would remain on the campuses. Graduates of these activists entered education, the media, government, industry, and politics and begin to embed illiberal progressive ideas where they landed. This is particularly true of the Democratic Party in the United States where they still pretend to be real liberals. When observing their policies, it has caused comments like I thought liberals were in favor of free speech and individual liberties. It is important to distinguish between the totalitarian approach and classic liberalism and it is good that the Economist pointed this out. While it is never too late, the classical liberals are late to the party. Recall how the illiberal progressives had adopted the long game and have been developing their policies over the years and their implementation is well underway and will be difficult to overcome.
I do believe that classical liberals offer the best chance to have honest debates on the issues and can come up with good solutions to existing problems. The Economist comment that Liberalism is still the best engine for equitable progress is correct. But the classical liberals do not control the conversation, in essence their voices have already been cancelled. The article ends with: Classical liberals must rediscover their fighting spirit. They should take on the bullies and cancellers. Liberals must have he courage to say so. That’s great but they offer no plan for taking on the bullies and cancellers. Calling for courage is good but not enough. Classical liberals must identify classical liberals within the ranks of the illiberal and provide them with real support (including financial} and platforms where they can speak their minds without being canceled. Saying have courage is not enough when pushing back can cause you to lose your job. The superiority of classical liberalism must prevail but the illiberal are well entrenched and a real plan to push back against their policies of illiberal progressives must be a priority and must be robust enough to win. Classical liberals, get a plan, the world needs you!