The Tyranny of Liberalism, Essay Example

This is a book authored by James Kalb that criticizes modern liberalism due to the various imperfections and assumptions that underlie the dominant liberal thinking practiced in the United States and most of Western Europe countries. The book has two parts with the first part entitled the Decline and Fall while the second is entitled Up From Tyranny. The first part presents an explanation of Liberalism as well as providing the fundamental principles that underlie it. In addition, he provides the consequences of modern advanced Liberalism which is the current type of liberal belief as adopted by the united states and most of western Europe.

The author indicates strongly that liberalism is a philosophy that is flawed right from its birth since it is mostly founded on pure theory as opposed to fundamental principles that work. It is thus an ideology that is based on an effort to create a perfectly manageable society which is hard to achieve. Liberalism refers to a belief in the value of individual liberty that entails several essential ideals such as written constitutions, human rights, liberal democracy as well as free trade and markets. Liberalism has come to define what is considered to be rational and moral within the society as it is the ideology that is aimed at ending the present human conflict found in society through equal fulfillment of human desires.

The first part of the book is thus a critique of the modern liberalism that seems to be authoritarian rather than taking the true course of liberalism. This is because the most basic values of liberalism which are a quest for equal freedom as well as an individual satisfaction are relentlessly attacked within the society. This in turn results in an alteration of liberalism into a new form that he calls advanced liberalism. This new form of liberalism is powerful and branches out into every aspect of public as well as private life due to its intrusive nature.

This results in social chaos due to the denial of individual, cultural, as well as social aspects that provide human life its crucial meaning in its endeavors to create a controlled society. In such a society, privacy becomes a vey coveted commodity since people end up losing their most basic freedoms as the nation continuously enforces new ideals and standards on them.

The author looks at the stranglehold that the American culture has been subjected to through a scourge that has been inflicted on the society by a technocracy that is characterized by choice rather than necessity. The author traces liberalism’s influence on western social life beginning in the middle ages to the period of the world wars. He notes that the western public as well as social life has over the years been founded on the rule that social order subsists to obtain men what they desire instead of expressing a fundamental ideal.

Additionally, he posits that the western public is also founded on the practical superiority of economics. Such a position advocates for choice rather tan the liberal principle of equality. He argues that modern liberalism circulates around a political absurdity which stems from an insufficient understanding of what is good and what is not. This is contrary to the liberalistic view of equality and freedom that considers hedonism as the utmost good in life. Conversely, equality and freedom call for redistribution of wealth that leads to satisfaction of most desires of people while at the same time giving priority and equal weight to all of these needs.

The kind of social life that is found in America is characterized by shattered families, runaway crime, vile entertainment, weakened religious communities and declining educational as well as health status is rather not consistent with the liberalistic doctrine that is expected in a country that upholds liberalism as the fundamental ideology for governance. The author further ridicules this kind of political irrationalism through his analysis of multiculturalism that he finds questionable due to its stand that one’s acts should be judged on the basis of another’s character. Liberal grandees seem to adore individualistic standpoints such as atheism and homosexuality while they label multiculturalism is viewed as hate speech.

The author posits that liberal doctrine allows only three characteristics within human beings which are educational certification, wealth and bureaucratic positions. Individuals within society who have these characteristics use their power to limit the freedom of speech of the rest of the people through the use of speech codes as well as enforced training in the acceptable and proper attitudes. This has led to contempt for dissent that resulted in the expression zero tolerance as well as homophobia that have turned the respect for traditional sexual morals into being viewed as a mental disorder.

Due to this hypocrisy, what was seen as unimaginable in the past is now the mainstream activity in the present day life and becomes a fundamental principle in the future. This leads to a situation where deviance is the norm as past lessons become discredited and unruly behavior increases tenfold. Individuals who are seen to fight this form of liberalism are insulted and viewed as bigots since the respect and adoration for democracy and tradition has already been discarded as it is seen to be oppressive. The government that has choice as the biggest principle is unable to tolerate people who take hard line standpoints out of their own choice.

Such an instance is seen when the author highlights the violent uproar that erupts following the rejection of same sex marriages in the state of California by voters which is a clear indication of liberal intolerance. Such actions have made affirmative action to attain eternal life as a result of the autocracy that has befallen the judicial system. In addition, the author asserts that the American nation has continued to be a conservative country since it is one of the most concerned with traditional moral standards. He also asserts that a neo-conservatism has been developed that furnishes enough traditional moderation that is necessary to hold liberalism from uncompromising suicide.

The second part of the book provides different substitutes to Liberalism, dumping those that seem not to solve the predicaments that are facing the society. The author suggests that the fall of American liberalism could be near with a soviet-style form of centralized government being not a farfetched alternative. In order to come with substitutes, Kalb takes a look at what liberalism has seized away from the society and then what can be done so as to recover from the predicaments. It also points out that we need to look into the past so as to be able to regain the traditional characteristics of life that described as well as kept the western society as one for centuries even prior to the introduction of Liberalism if we want to remedy this problem. These traditional characteristics were essential in the creation of traditional institutions that formed most ancient western societies forming strong ties such as religion, family, and culture that were able to model an ideal way of life which present liberals reject.

These traditions create the relationships by which people abide to as well as establishing common habits that direct social functioning in addition to facilitating networks of confidence and cooperation. The process of finding the remedy needs to be carried out in both a small and large scale so as to be able to counter the social problems that face the society at both levels. the author argues that these traditional characteristics permitted social accord for many centuries in for a large part of Western history hence can be used once again to attain such harmony. To attain such a remedy, the author contends that a conservatism that audaciously fortifies limited government, federalism, and localism is important. This is because life has little to do with all-encompassing legal organization and grand disembodied principles than with tangible religious as well as historical communities. He terms these traditional characteristics functional patterns that are essential for the smooth running of a society.

For example, he posits that sexual morality is a long-established tradition since it seems to be right in actual practice and experience. This is because it is a tradition that relies on logic that sexual behavior should comprise a strong relationship to its accepted reproductive purpose. If this is not followed, sexual behavior results into an agent of confusion rather than a pillar of vital relationships. The author suggests that the pressing political objective is the self-control of technocracy in order to be able to address issues that affect equal redistribution and allocation of the available resources rather than addressing the satisfaction of individual preferences at the expense of others. The author argues that grassroots remedies should include such initiatives as the participation in home, private, school or religious education, as well as the rejection of negative mass media influence and tasteless entertainment. Such interventions are necessary so as to salvage the present situation and come up with a restoration of a noble, humane society.

Works Cited

Mary McWay, Seaman. Tyranny of Liberalism: Understanding and Overcoming Administered Freedom, Inquisitorial Tolerance, and Equality by Command. New Oxford Review. 24 Feb, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7672/is_200906/ai_n32331053/