In May, a piece I’ve been eager to see published came out at Liberal Currents. In it, I argue that classical liberals (small government liberals and libertarians committed to liberalism) fit better with our fellow liberals than with erstwhile allies on the political right. I talk about a few reasons why this reunion didn’t happen already, and why those reasons shouldn’t stand in the way anymore.
Writing this piece was, in a way, the culmination of almost a decade (especially the last half decade) of me working through how I ended up standing politically next to people who are indifferent or hostile to the values and policies that I think matter most while the liberal consensus and the “libertarian moment” collapsed. My hope is that this piece extends a hand to people who came through that moment feeling the way I did to help them see a path through.
The most common criticism or concern I’ve seen expressed about this piece is from people wondering how coalitions can be formed by people who have such different policy prescriptions. I have something in the pipeline about this topic that I hope to share next time.
I regret to inform you that as a result of this piece, I made my debut on TikTok.
@liberal.currents LC contributor Janet Bufton discusses her newest essay, which you can find out now at liberalcurrents.com, entitled "Liberalism Reunited."... See more
The video promo was well-received, and working a pitch for the piece down to three minutes or less was a useful exercise. So (sigh) I will be making some more and (sigh) getting myself a space on TikTok, YouTube, and an author page on Instagram. I’ll send that info out when I have it set up. Blame/credit to Adam and Samantha at Liberal Currents.
This piece is also part of my ongoing argument that market liberals and liberal libertarians should stop seeing themselves as above the fray of politics or too skeptical of democracy to participate so that they (we) can more thoughtfully join the fray. See also here and the pieces collected here.
Recs
A few pieces went up in the past month at Liberalism.org (where I’m also a contributor) in which I see shared themes with my Liberal Currents piece. First, Jacob Levy comes out swinging against claims that liberal neutrality, or individual commitment to it, takes the fight out of liberalism or excuses liberals' staying on the sidelines.
And Sarah Skwire writes about when coalitions can be (or become) dangerous, especially once they’re accepted as inevitable. Also, dragons.
If you wish for more reading recommendations from me, you can always follow me on Seabird Reader.
Happy Monday, and happy June.
