Liberal vs Illiberal

These two terms were introduced in yesterday’s blog posting. Other points were also brought forward. I’ll start with today’s posting in addressing those points.

First of all, liberal I think refers to the academic term that includes a society that is primarily a democracy. There are full democracies and partial ones. The partial ones include government forms, protocols and procedures that reduce ‘pure’ democratic practices in favor of strong government regulations and restrictions. America is, in this sense, a liberal nation. Its form of government is primarily democratic. That means citizens are asked to vote for fellow citizens to fill positions of authority in order to manage and govern the nation, its states, counties and municipalities.

American voters are also asked to give their support or opposition to changes to the Constitution, the document that spells out much of our contract of governance between the people and its chosen form of government. The public also provides input on key issues and whether a government authority ought to have authority over an issue in a particular manner. Uncontrolled gambling is one such form. Abortion rights is another. And many others.

American democracy includes a vibrant free and open press that has authority to investigate every nook and cranny of our social order. Free and open debate, discussion and writing on all of these issues is encouraged and engaged. Sometimes these discussions are rowdy; also news reporting gets a bit pushy!

Some nations label themselves a democracy but the central government actually retains the authority over the people. Such nations are not democratic, but illiberal and centrally controlled.

Russia has a long history of this form of governance. So too, China.

There are also smaller nations with tyrannical leadership. Usually these are power and wealth building for the ‘supreme leader.’ Or their chosen elites. Violence is a key feature of such nations. Opposing views are controlled and those who stubbornly persist in opposition usually are removed from public view. Such removal may be imprisonment (temporary or permanent), or death. History is filled with such societies. There are several alive and functioning today.

Illiberal is not the same thing as conservative. In a democratic society opposing views are welcome and fully discussed. If incivility is encouraged as a tactic to dampen opposition in a democracy, the liberal label is weakened, and the illiberal label is strengthened within that society. Propaganda becomes a norm in illiberal societies. We see that in Russia currently; we see similar activity in China, especially in the past. We are now seeing it in America.

Conservative and liberal ideologies active in a democracy such as the American model, are not the same thing as liberal or illiberal. The latter two terms are to be used in the academic sense. The former two terms are political ideologies worth discussing currently.

American debate of these two terms have become polarized in recent years. I feel this is not a good thing. The spirited discussions have become less civil and much more heated. An example:

Conservative is now becoming known for being anti-communist. Liberal is accused of being socialist at the least, and communist at the worst. Neither label is accurate, however. This is precisely what needs to be discussed. The conversation must be open, accepting and dedicated to understanding other voices in the room. I have been accused of being liberal. I am actually centrist in my ideology. Some people, however, do not accept such terms. They are more absolutist in nature – either you are dedicated to the democratic ideal where government authority resides in the hands of the people, or you are a detractor of democracy. 

Of course I repudiate this accusation. Government authority taken too far on either end of the dimension, is either fascist or communist. I favor neither. But I do favor reasonable regulations to counter natural human proclivity toward greed. A balanced position would include both liberal and conservative view points. Compromise will make this happen; indeed, it has made it happen for centuries.

Rather than maintaining a purely liberal governance structure, individual motivation and risk/reward behavior is to be encouraged. However, uncontrolled freedom for some must be countered by reasonable rules and regulations. Adjusting those regulations will be a continual process to make certain they do not overreach or lack effectiveness.

The world stage is a good viewing point for liberal and illiberal nations. It must not be confused, however, with liberal and conservative. That construct is within the nation and among its citizens.

When and where do we begin dialog on these matters? Surely, I am not the only person concerned with this issue?

May 24, 2018