The Not-So-Goodness of Liberalism?

Is liberalism really the “unmitigated good” many of us Westerners believe it is? Is more freedom always a good thing? Shadi Hamid explores these questions, questioning whether liberalism truly is ideologically neutral.

Is liberalism really the “unmitigated good” many of us Westerners believe it is? Is more freedom always a good thing?

Shadi Hamid explores these questions about Western liberalism, the “political order that privileges non-negotiable rights, personal freedoms, and individual autonomy,” not to be confused with liberalism, meaning the left of American politics.

Hamid questions the so-called ideological neutrality of liberalism, perhaps in contrast to its common description as a “neutral bystander,” and its relation to the rise of Western illiberalism and ethno-nationalism, especially in Europe.

Read the full article here: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/liberalism-trump/553754/