How Liberalism Loses
New York Times,
by
Ross Douthat
Original Article
Posted By: MissMolly,
5/27/2019 5:03:07 AM
In Australia a week ago, the party of the left lost an election it was supposed to win, to a conservative government headed by an evangelical Christian who won working-class votes by opposing liberal climate policies. In India last week, the Hindu-nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, won an overwhelming electoral victory. And as of this writing, Europeans are electing a Parliament that promises to have more populist representation than before.
The global fade of liberalism, in other words, appears to be continuing. Right-wing populism struggles to govern effectively, but it clearly has a durable political appeal — which, as Tyler Cowen points out
Reply 1 - Posted by:
planetgeo 5/27/2019 5:17:46 AM (No. 84924)
The reason that "right wing populism struggles to govern effectively" is because the left purposely obstructs and sabotages the will of the people every step of the way. They refuse to accept governance unless it's by their leftist leaders.
In effect they're saying "over our dead bodies". Sooner or later it's going to come down to, Ok then, have it your way...up against the wall.
47 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
jeffkinnh 5/27/2019 6:33:48 AM (No. 84947)
Whistling in the dark.
"Trump remains eminently beatable"
Only to those that are blind. The economy is the strongest argument for Trump but in almost every dem group there are those who are questioning dem orthodoxy and seeing that Trump is delivering for the People, even for people like them, in many ways. Questioning is the death knell for dems and liberalism whose existence is maintained through deception and corruption and has a continual record of failure.
Beyond that, Trump's base is rabidly loyal, excited, and focused. Dems are fragmented, angry and foolish, attacking each other, and largely clueless. The article describes and bemoans liberalism's state but fails to acknowledge, as liberals typically do, Trump's preeminence.
A Trump tsunami is starting to form. Liberals losing may be the least of their problems.
34 people like this.
So now it's back to leftists getting their way, albeit via incrementalism. They sure play the long game. I fear populism is popular as long as the economy is good. Leftism is a leftist's religion. I fear that if it becomes too unpopular, rejected by too many, the leftists will go on a crusade to tank the economy so as to bring the fickle back to the pews to worship at the altar of Government Is God. Would they impoverish the masses in order to force us to come to Godvernment for our daily bread? I think they would.
11 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
cThree 5/27/2019 6:53:49 AM (No. 84966)
Pay wall.
Liberalism fails because it depends on our better impulses, our compassion, generosity and selflessness. It imagines that world, hopes for and designs that world, but it never quite works. It doesn't work because we are also lazy and selfish.
Liberals end up stripping freedom from people and grinding them under the government thumb all in the effort to force our better nature to overcome our selfish nature, but it never does. Slavery and misery is as close as it can come.
Conservative ideas work. That is, they produce wealth and freedom, but they too are hamstrung by our selfish and lazy inclinations. Conservative ideas depend on negative consequences, such as if you are productive you will enjoy a better life. Those ideas require responsibility, among other things. And responsibility is rather the opposite of lazy.
Conservatism produces, liberalism distributes, and they fit together, with difficulty, just as we ourselves are mash-ups of compassion and selfishness.
Simplistic? Perhaps. But the simplification—different than "simplistic"—serves to distill an essentially truth: Conservative ideas must be primary, liberal ideas secondary for a society to prosper and become like that benevolent Shangri-La liberals pine for. Conservative ideas such as private property must first produce, so that liberal ideas such as sharing are possible.
That's how society advances. For example, over time our increasing productivity, our industrial efficiency, has allowed to do away slavery, and later, child labor, and later still, onerous 60 hour a week sweatshops. Our ability to adjust our moral sensitivity to what is or isn't abusive depends on our economic ability to sustain a new model. It will not succeed the other way around.
As Memorial Day reminds us that our freedom is built on the profound sacrifice of others, so our ability to be generous is based on our capacity to produce.
There ya go. No pay wall.
37 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 5/27/2019 9:04:36 AM (No. 85019)
The problem is that liberalism doesn't add up to a coherent governing philosophy. For example, they want the military to be a 'rainbow of diversity' with little interest in being an effective fighting force. They want to eliminate fossil fuels without admitting that windmills and solar panels will not ever produce a steady, reliable source of energy. I could go on forever...
14 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Strike3 5/27/2019 9:32:48 AM (No. 85041)
The struggle will go on forever because it all comes down to a battle between rigid government-imposed order as described in 1984 and freedom. Civilizations that ultimately caused their own end, like Rome, saw the government controlling a lazy, immoral populace that did nothing but crave food, wine and the latest amusements. They were like Hollywood on the Tiber. There is a test that would reveal which side is more capable of survival and growth by dividing the US into two countries, one half conservatives and the other half liberals. Conservatives would work, build and then enjoy, Liberals would tear down until there was nothing left and become beggars at our walls.
15 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
starboard 5/27/2019 10:29:18 AM (No. 85087)
Liberalism fails.
6 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
DVC 5/27/2019 3:08:54 PM (No. 85248)
Douthat.
NYT.
Each, by itself, a compelling reason to not read. Together.....not a chance in hell.
1 person likes this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
49 Ford 5/27/2019 4:08:02 PM (No. 85290)
Douthat is an intelligent guy and a (sometimes) halfway sane leftoid. Is t5here any way to access the article beyond the paywall? If not I wish OP would not put up articles that spike interest but cannot be accessed.
0 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 5/27/2019 6:03:23 PM (No. 85339)
In the 1970's the leftist destroyers planted their flag for the 1923 era Equal Rights Amendment and staked their future on it getting imposed on the people by candidates Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro. Needless to say, the left lost that war, but the battles have continued to be waged, and today, they have achieved EVERY tenet of that evil swill of an Amendment by incremental laws, and activist Judge rulings, until today the moral rot and decay inflicted upon this nation threatens to unravel everything our forefathers have fought and died for in our 243 years of freedom and liberty. Evil never rests... fight them to the bitter end.
1 person likes this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
doctorfixit 5/27/2019 8:14:00 PM (No. 85395)
Liberalism is a psychopathic totalitarian death cult, like Islam, cannibalism, or communism. There can be no dealings, no compromise between Freedom and totalitarianism. One will triumph. the other will be eradicated.
0 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
ramona 5/27/2019 8:24:12 PM (No. 85400)
Douthat is the resident conservative at the Times. If he were a Conservative, he would offer something more substantive than this pap.
He must be well paid to willingly nestle in a den of vipers.
Ramona (the Pest)
0 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
MissMolly 5/28/2019 7:52:21 AM (No. 85531)
#10, the paywall only crops up for a poster who has hit the free article limit. If you set your browser to clear history each time it's closed, you will never see the paywall at most news sites with a free article limit.
0 people like this.
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