What's Wrong with Liberalism? (SHANNONDELL Valley Forge)

Anti-liberalism has been growing. Some critics say it is eroding the pillars of American liberal democracy. Are we at risk of losing our cherished liberties and rights? Why are so many Americans trading off democratic freedom for security (or promises of security)? In this discussion we will explore what is happening to liberal democracy under Donald Trump and why.

David Brooks, a conservative opponent of President Trump’s recent anti-liberal, anti-democratic actions and policies, explains what he sees as weaknesses in the liberal agenda. Read his recent NY Times opinion piece, “Why I Am Not a Liberal” at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/opinion/liberal-conservative-left-right-politics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.kE8.fOrQ.wbImlG5fkSqv&smid=url-share (This is a free NY Times gift link.)

Brooks attributes the success of Trump’s populism and the recent rise of anti-liberalism to the failure of the liberal Democratic Party’s policies. He wrote, “Populism is not primarily economic; it’s about respect, values, national identity and many other things. All that spending did not win anybody over.”

Historian Robert Kagan, discusses the rise of anti-liberal, anti-democratic politics from a historic perspective in his book, “Rebellion: How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart – Again.” You can watch a book interview of Kagan by Christiane Amanpour that was broadcast on CNN last fall. See the video at https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2024/04/30/amanpour-kagan-rebillion-anti-liberalism.cnn.

Robert Kagan, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, resigned from his position as editor-at-large at the Washington Post last October after the paper’s owner Jeff Bezos announced that the paper would stop endorsing presidential candidates. The editorial board was about to endorse Kamala Harris.