The Decline of Liberalism (SHANNONDELL Valley Forge)

What is liberalism? There are many definitions and varieties of liberalism that we will try to sort out in this discussion, as we explore whether “liberalism” has been declining in America and globally - and why it matters.

Stanford political scientist Francis Fukuyama warned in a 2020 article that liberalism is being attacked from the right and the left. He writes, “The contemporary attack on liberalism goes much deeper than the ambitions of a handful of populist politicians, however. They would not be as successful as they have been were they not riding a wave of discontent with some of the underlying characteristics of liberal societies.” Read the article, “Liberalism and Its Discontents” (October 2020) at https://www.persuasion.community/p/liberalism-and-its-discontent.

Here are some other online resources to inform our discussion:

• A PBS video that explains the difference between classical and modern liberalism: “What Does Liberalism Mean?” at https://www.pbs.org/video/what-does-liberalism-mean-rvx8cq/. It runs 12:25.
• A brief excerpt from the 2019 book, “Why Liberalism Failed” by Notre Dame political scientist Patrick J. Deneen at https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2019/02/20/why-liberalism-failed/.
• An online article that discusses international liberalism, “Is Liberal Democracy in Decline?” (2022) by historian Julio Crespo-MacLennan, IE University (Spain) at https://www.ie.edu/insights/articles/is-liberal-democracy-in-decline.

Some questions to consider:
· How does classical liberalism differ from modern liberalism?
· Does liberal ideology seek to protect human (individual) rights and/or civil (group) rights?
· Are political, economic, social, religious, and moral liberalism related?
· How is liberalism related to democracy? Can we have one without the other?
· If liberalism has, in fact declined, in what ways?