1. All left ideologies going back to classical liberalism i…

1. All left ideologies going back to classical liberalism itself are revolutionary and utopian at heart. The whole of the enlightenment IS the culture war writ large. Whether it is capitalism, Marxism, socialism, or fascism, they are part of the enlightenment drive for utopia.

This superb article denounces a false left promoting wokery and dissolving all basic pillars of human civilisation, while not falling into the dangers of simplistic right-wing reaction. Increasingly the real left, including Marxists, are breaking with such liberal extremism. https://t.co/5RLvHMqixM
— john milbank (@johnmilbank3) December 5, 2022

2. This is at root the basic impulse of the enlightenment, it is even in the name itself: “the enlightenment.” It is the claim that they woke up after the “dark ages” (another enlightenment smear). They were going to overthrow hierarchy and superstition.

3. They would trust reason alone. Society would be remade along the lines of reason and science. We would free ourselves from dark ages shackles on learning, economics and politics. We would remake society, putting human dignity at the center of society.

4. There is no escaping this in our society. Even so-called “conservatives” today simply harken back to an earlier simpler liberalism. But they never stop to examine liberalism’s fundamental drive to build a society that realizes humanity’s full potential.

5. At its heart, liberalism is utopian. It has its own soteriology. It is trying to create a utopia of equality, freedom and prosperity. If now the current forms of liberalism want to devour the older, this is what revolutions do.

6. If you are at all interested in rejecting the excesses of wokism, good luck with trying to excise and cleanse it from the liberal project. If you want to get rid of wokism, you had better be prepared to reject liberalism itself and it’s whole rights based morality.

7. You will need to reject the idea that freedom is based on human autonomy and unrestricted choices. You will need to reject the money culture that has grown up around market capitalism that is built around free unrestrained choice and desire.

8. Ultimately, and this is the solution that few realize today, that when push comes to shove we have to repent of what we have allowed ourselves to become as western liberals. We need to repent of our liberalism and it’s goal to build a utopia by the power of human effort.

9. As anodyne as the liberalism of the 1700’s seems today with its emphasis on rights, the rule of law, democracy, the division of powers, etc., and as restrained as the American revolution was, the intent is still there: "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union ..."

1. All left ideologies going back to classical liberalism itself are revolutionary and utopian at heart. The whole of the enlightenment IS the culture war writ large. Whether it is capitalism, Marxism, socialism, or fascism, they are part of the enlightenment drive for utopia.

More from All

You May Also Like