My title has been borrowed from a recent FT article on their formerly liberal conservatives a.k.a. Tories. My initial gut feeling was that liberal conservatives are now illiberal conservatives. The same argument also applies to the American Republican conservatives.
For many years, the word liberal has been an American insult. Nowadays, it’s slowly becoming a European insult as well. More and more, the term liberal equals the French term laissez faire or – worse – laissez faire et laissez passer (a.k.a. allow and don’t interfere).
I suppose that liberalism may – ultimately – refer to a lack of moral principles. I used to apply a narrow definition of liberalism (ie, economics) until I wrote my 2018 blog on The 7 stages of Liberalism. Also see my update on illiberal Liberalism in 2023.
In my view, the transformation from liberalism to illiberalism is a result of Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion (ie, action = reaction). Moreover, decades of adherence to globalism are now causing a (transformative) period of nationalism, in many countries. Even the EU has now become subject to that transformation.
The American transformation to illiberalism is becoming extremely anti-feminine (eg, ban of anti-conception pills, ban of morning-after pill, ban of abortion). Do these arrogant, ignorant and illiberal men forget – or willingly ignore – that American women outnumber American male voters by about 7-10 million?? Or are female voting rights next in line??
“We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.”
A quote by Margaret Atwood (b.1939), writer of The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
Going To A Town (2007) by Rufus Wainwright
artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-artist, Wiki-song
[Verse 1]
I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down
I’m going to a place that has already been disgraced
I’m gonna see some folks who have already been let down
I’m so tired of America
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.
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