Barry, I believe I have noticed a significant change in emphasis and direction of your essays in the last few months. The anger that you note in your fellow Americans is a problem in all western democracies at the moment. There are a lot of bones to pull out of what you say but lets start with the title 'Liberalism Needs no Enemies'. I would once have agreed with that statement, being very much a 'centre ground' thinker who has always believed that this is the arena where balance, common sense and tolerance reside and we stand a far better chance of achieving majority unification of thought.
However, my view is that politics from all sides of the spectrum has been infiltrated and traditional values, be they socialist or conservative, have been undermined without any discussion from the politicians. I think we could talk for hours just on that subject alone with regard to what is behind it and what the unpublished agenda is. Just to take the UK, I have absolutely no idea what any UK party stands for anymore. It is possible to look at both the Labour and Conservative Party direction and not recognise any of the traditional values that once epitomised their position and values. It is difficult to find any discernible differences between the current Conservative administration (2010 to present) and the preceding 13 years of Blairism that destroyed so much of what was good in British society. The Blairite years obliterated Labour values and the best description of what they replaced it with was not Liberalism but Neo-Liberalism. Likewise, for the last 13 years we have had more of the same with Neo-Liberalism pretending to be Conservatism. A lot of anger stems from individuals being totally disenfranchised and finding no home for their values anywhere within the political spectrum that is currently on offer and that includes myself. Again, we could talk for hours about how we got here and what the true agenda is but I would sum up by saying that democracy has been extinguished without most understanding what is happening. Everywhere where once democracy (whether flawed or otherwise) operated has become faux democracy in the West. Sadly, my view is that the USA has much to answer for this having been accepted as the global leader for democracy. The USA sneezed and the rest of Western countries caught a cold. This position is exacerbated by the fact that so many of the pillars that once upheld healthy democratic society have disappeared. This includes independent honest journalism that is even handed in its dissemination of information, great education systems where meritocracy is central and key to outcomes, freedom of thought and speech, judicial systems where all can expect a fair trial etc.. I could go on. The other factor that perhaps drives the anger and dissatisfaction is the reversal in reducing global poverty with polarisation of wealth in hand with power to a small number of individuals whose influence makes a mockery of any notion of democracy. Sadly, again I believe the avarice of the rich and powerful (and generally unelected) in the USA has been a significant driver of the momentum here, and, again, it is not just the majority of good Americans that are suffering the repercussions from this. We are all bleeding. A political trend that exacerbated this was the gradual neutering of mergers, monopolies and cartel commissions on a global basis.
You rightly say that 'minds can be creative or destructive' and we should all strive to be right minded (which covers an awful lot of ground). However, to tell us to stop justifying grievances appears to be somewhat crass and patronising to my mind. One thing I know for sure is that if we do not identify the root causes of our problems and demand that those with the power levers listen to our grievances, the outcomes are likely to be very grim.
Quite right. Endlessly held and constantly nurtured grievances are the death of mental peace, and quite often the cause of actual violence as well, both on a person-to-person scale and on a national scale. Perhaps to be rid of them it's necessary first to acknowledge the perverse pleasure they bring, in turning focus away from one's own shortcomings and pinning them on others. There is pain involved in letting go. But the benefits are tremendous. Maintaining a set of lies inside takes (and wastes) lots of mental energy, since all around are things which threaten to break the façade. The good news is that it doesn't take dynamite to stop playing those kinds of games, only a genuine awareness of how destructive they are, which anyone can come to with some effort.
One thing I have noticed is that much “social conservative” commentary is often indifferent if not inherently or even explicitly hostile to the free market. Maybe hostile is too strong in many cases. They don’t “get it” is what I end up often thinking. At the least they don’t celebrate it enough, or focus granularly on what makes it the best.
I read a little around Alastair MacIntyre recently, and one of my takeaways is that one of the side effects of Liberalism is that it takes away meaning for many people. I think having enemies gives many people meaning. Maybe some people are just lucky enough to not need to derive meaning that way?
I think this essay is right on the money. It is a great synthesis of ideas. I am personally solidly moderate center left. We clearly have different politics, but I agree with you that any change has to start with the self, the individual, ie we agree on what we both think is the most important thing there is: getting on with life, and as well as we can. Politicians and the media have hacked the human need for enemies. You make a damn good case: Liberalism is the antidote.
I would add that it isn’t just the angry or frustrated who end up obsessed with grievance but also those who are seeking some kind of meaning. Having enemies, even or maybe especially if they think they are doing it on what they see as “society’s” to give so many people purpose.
Barry, I believe I have noticed a significant change in emphasis and direction of your essays in the last few months. The anger that you note in your fellow Americans is a problem in all western democracies at the moment. There are a lot of bones to pull out of what you say but lets start with the title 'Liberalism Needs no Enemies'. I would once have agreed with that statement, being very much a 'centre ground' thinker who has always believed that this is the arena where balance, common sense and tolerance reside and we stand a far better chance of achieving majority unification of thought.
However, my view is that politics from all sides of the spectrum has been infiltrated and traditional values, be they socialist or conservative, have been undermined without any discussion from the politicians. I think we could talk for hours just on that subject alone with regard to what is behind it and what the unpublished agenda is. Just to take the UK, I have absolutely no idea what any UK party stands for anymore. It is possible to look at both the Labour and Conservative Party direction and not recognise any of the traditional values that once epitomised their position and values. It is difficult to find any discernible differences between the current Conservative administration (2010 to present) and the preceding 13 years of Blairism that destroyed so much of what was good in British society. The Blairite years obliterated Labour values and the best description of what they replaced it with was not Liberalism but Neo-Liberalism. Likewise, for the last 13 years we have had more of the same with Neo-Liberalism pretending to be Conservatism. A lot of anger stems from individuals being totally disenfranchised and finding no home for their values anywhere within the political spectrum that is currently on offer and that includes myself. Again, we could talk for hours about how we got here and what the true agenda is but I would sum up by saying that democracy has been extinguished without most understanding what is happening. Everywhere where once democracy (whether flawed or otherwise) operated has become faux democracy in the West. Sadly, my view is that the USA has much to answer for this having been accepted as the global leader for democracy. The USA sneezed and the rest of Western countries caught a cold. This position is exacerbated by the fact that so many of the pillars that once upheld healthy democratic society have disappeared. This includes independent honest journalism that is even handed in its dissemination of information, great education systems where meritocracy is central and key to outcomes, freedom of thought and speech, judicial systems where all can expect a fair trial etc.. I could go on. The other factor that perhaps drives the anger and dissatisfaction is the reversal in reducing global poverty with polarisation of wealth in hand with power to a small number of individuals whose influence makes a mockery of any notion of democracy. Sadly, again I believe the avarice of the rich and powerful (and generally unelected) in the USA has been a significant driver of the momentum here, and, again, it is not just the majority of good Americans that are suffering the repercussions from this. We are all bleeding. A political trend that exacerbated this was the gradual neutering of mergers, monopolies and cartel commissions on a global basis.
You rightly say that 'minds can be creative or destructive' and we should all strive to be right minded (which covers an awful lot of ground). However, to tell us to stop justifying grievances appears to be somewhat crass and patronising to my mind. One thing I know for sure is that if we do not identify the root causes of our problems and demand that those with the power levers listen to our grievances, the outcomes are likely to be very grim.
Quite right. Endlessly held and constantly nurtured grievances are the death of mental peace, and quite often the cause of actual violence as well, both on a person-to-person scale and on a national scale. Perhaps to be rid of them it's necessary first to acknowledge the perverse pleasure they bring, in turning focus away from one's own shortcomings and pinning them on others. There is pain involved in letting go. But the benefits are tremendous. Maintaining a set of lies inside takes (and wastes) lots of mental energy, since all around are things which threaten to break the façade. The good news is that it doesn't take dynamite to stop playing those kinds of games, only a genuine awareness of how destructive they are, which anyone can come to with some effort.
One thing I have noticed is that much “social conservative” commentary is often indifferent if not inherently or even explicitly hostile to the free market. Maybe hostile is too strong in many cases. They don’t “get it” is what I end up often thinking. At the least they don’t celebrate it enough, or focus granularly on what makes it the best.
I read a little around Alastair MacIntyre recently, and one of my takeaways is that one of the side effects of Liberalism is that it takes away meaning for many people. I think having enemies gives many people meaning. Maybe some people are just lucky enough to not need to derive meaning that way?
I think this essay is right on the money. It is a great synthesis of ideas. I am personally solidly moderate center left. We clearly have different politics, but I agree with you that any change has to start with the self, the individual, ie we agree on what we both think is the most important thing there is: getting on with life, and as well as we can. Politicians and the media have hacked the human need for enemies. You make a damn good case: Liberalism is the antidote.
I would add that it isn’t just the angry or frustrated who end up obsessed with grievance but also those who are seeking some kind of meaning. Having enemies, even or maybe especially if they think they are doing it on what they see as “society’s” to give so many people purpose.