True Liberals Are Not On The Left

Granddaddy Long Legs ^

[cchandler]

Arnold Kling wrote a brilliantly simple essay called Stuck on 1968, which dissects the antiquated mindset of today's liberal left. Here are some of the better portions:

"Worldviews are more a mental security blanket than a serious effort to understand the world."

-- Bryan Caplan, The Logic of Collective Belief

Most people who were liberals in 1968 still are.

Liberals. In 1968.

(snip)

If 1968 were an influential thinker, it would have many disciples who share its folk beliefs. Those folk beliefs are the mental security blanket still being clutched by my liberal friends, even those who are not old enough to remember 1968.

I want to contrast the way the world might have appeared to a reasonable liberal in 1968 with the way events have unfolded since then. Afterwards, if you still prefer the folk beliefs of 1968 to my views today, so be it. But at least you have an opportunity to reconsider.....

[theDentist]

They're "Stuck on Hippie"

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Stuck on 1968
TCS Daily ^ | 27 January 2006 | Arnold Kling

[cchandler]

They're also stuck on "We Know Better Than You"

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I've written before that it bothers me greatly that modern liberals claim the moral high ground on every social issue because they have baptized themselves with the term, liberal. Modern liberals exhibit almost none of the aforementioned qualities and beliefs, and their open contempt for anyone who questions their world view is proof of their intolerance.

Journalists claim to be objective but actually are arrogant, claiming powers and virtues they do not possess. Socialistic politicians are simply people who say exactly what journalists want to hear, and are rewarded with the appellation "moderate," now that they have run the positive term "liberal" into the ground.

[ClaireSolt]

1968 was the scariest year of my life. Those stuck there have selective amnesia. Go figure.

[cchandler]

Good point, you seem to share my disdain for the arrogant press.

You should read these articles titled, Byline, Ellsworth Toohey and It's Time to Shoot the Messenger.

[mmercier]

Liberal: noun: a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties

As long as those liberties keep minorities and the poor in failing public schools and do not entail the dirty work of liberating subjugated nations or inferior peoples not capable of self governance from tyrannical rule.

noun: a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets

As long as those self regulating markets are controlled by myriad laws and regulations that demolish productivity and competitiveness. A nice progressive income tax on the productive to discourage investment and risk taking are also helpful.

adjective: having political or social views favoring reform and progress

As long as no existing government program is ever modified or eliminated.

adjective: tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition

Authoritarianism is the hallmark of the current liberal as exemplified by university speech codes and doctrines.

adjective: showing or characterized by broad-mindedness

Ya right. No true liberal would ever, in any manner support gun control.

Todays "liberal" is simply yesterdays "communist".

I am a liberal.

[tcrlaf]

bump

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Interesting, especially the discussion of the applicability of Fountainhead. My own analysis of journalism is in this long-running thread:

Why Broadcast Journalism is
Unnecessary and Illegitimate

There is no reason, other than journalism's self-hype, to believe that journalism is or can be expected to be objective. Certainly the First Amendment doesn't require it. And journalism demonstrably functions in a guild-like way to control the appellation "objective."

[EGPWS]

Classical liberals reject wealth transfers (though admire the goal of helping the needy), tariffs, or other trade barriers such as quotas, regulated markets (also known as a Mixed economy), capital controls, wage and price controls.

Liberals nowadays are "hard rock"...

[cchandler]

Good stuff.