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Here's some historical background. In the 19th century the West enjoyed an extraordinary period of peace, prosperity, and technological progress, all under the

Here's some historical background. In the 19th century the West enjoyed an extraordinary period of peace, prosperity, and technological progress, all under the guidance of Enlightenment philosophy, with its focus on the supposedly unlimited powers of human reason, and Liberal political philosophy. But then there was what we now call World War I, which was remarkably destructive and killed of much of an entire generation of young men. And that in turn lead to the Communist revolution in Russia, and great political instability in Germany, which had been seen as the most civilized of nations, which lead to the rise of the Nazis, and also the Fascist regime in Italy. In addition modern developments such as radio and the automobile produced considerably cultural disruption. All this produced great confusion and despair among much of the intellectual class, and a great many abandoned Liberalism and Enlightenment philosophy. The book in question discusses three philosophers who searched for alternatives, and one who stuck with the Enlightenment.

segfaultbuserr 6y ago
> the West enjoyed an extraordinary period of peace, prosperity, and technological progress, all under the guidance of Enlightenment [...] But then there was [...] great political instability [...] In addition modern developments such as radio and the automobile produced considerably cultural disruption. All this produced great confusion and despair among much of the intellectual class, and a great many abandoned Liberalism and Enlightenment philosophy. What will happen in the 2020s-2030s? What will become the new replacement of Neoliberalism? From time to time, I find myself considering this question. The historical background now is remarkably similar. I bet some Hacker News headlines (e.g. "UK votes to leave EU") we've seen has already appeared in a 2060 exam on the early 2010s-2030s, not unlike the our impression of early 1910s-1930s history.
- sdfin 6y ago
  What's the difference between liberalism and neoliberalism? I'd like to read something about that.
  - Kednicma 6y ago
    Wikipedia has a fine overview on all of this. All liberals, from classical liberals to metaliberals, believe in basic tenets of freedom which are required to have a consenting and aware government, like free speech and freedom to keep private property. Neoliberals are right-of-center liberals who focus on fiscal power, consumerist economy, and free markets. The main distinction worth highlighting is that neoliberalism does not view it as a problem when large piles of money participate in politics. After all, free markets imply that market leaders must know something about something and aren't merely lucky; therefore they are worth putting in charge of government. In Hong Kong, we see this taken to an extreme, with banks directly voting to choose legislators, but we also see variants all over the world, like the infamous Citizens United vs FEC decision in the USA which allows corporations to directly steer political action committees. Liberalism is the ACLU; neoliberalism is Disney. The ACLU works to defend everybody's rights; Disney just wants to make money.
    - leephillips 6y ago
      Thank you for that rundown; I found it useful, because I’m also hazy about this terminology. I hesitate to take this into what might be an irrelevant and contentious side road, but I just want to remark that the ACLU is not considered an organization that defends “everybody’s“ rights by everybody. They’ve historically done a fantastic job at defending freedom of speech, press, and assembly, and also 4th amendment rights. Aside from that, it depends on the cultural background of whatever lawyers happen to have influence in the organization. I don’t think most gun owners would say the the ACLU is interested in defending them against the government’s infringement of their rights to keep and bear arms, for example. And, more recently, they’ve taken stances that some people consider misogynistic, by telling women that they have no right to women-only spaces, for example. Women have increasing reason to feel that the ACLU is not defending their rights, in this sphere. So are they a good example of Liberalism? I guess it’s complicated.
      - dalbasal 6y ago
        These things are never clean. In the context of 20th century liberalism, some rights are more broadly accepted than others. Freedom of speech, press, free assembly, political association, rule of law, religion, property etc... these are the core freedoms.. the liberties liberalism refers to. Gun rights are somewhat unique to America so IDK how to treat them. Other rights... these are not necessarily "liberal" rights. Socialism, for example, always criticised liberals for leaving workers rights and economic rights out of the equation. The ones that exist in law came about later, from socialist (progressives in US terms) agitations that came from "left" of the liberals. Women only spaces, other such rights... I'm not sure how they relate to liberalism. Feminism generally has not been a purely liberal movement. It had/has many camps and influences. Liberalism does not mean support for every right. In fact, early liberalism opposed the "rights and privileges" of monarchs, clergy and the aristocracy. Those rights, for example, are part of the UK constitution, but liberals are against them.
- tim333 6y ago
  Brexit and Trump don't really compare to WW1. The big change that I think is coming is AGI which will change things more than WW1. Not quite sure how it'll play out.

segfaultbuserr 6y ago

> the West enjoyed an extraordinary period of peace, prosperity, and technological progress, all under the guidance of Enlightenment [...] But then there was [...] great political instability [...] In addition modern developments such as radio and the automobile produced considerably cultural disruption. All this produced great confusion and despair among much of the intellectual class, and a great many abandoned Liberalism and Enlightenment philosophy. What will happen in the 2020s-2030s? What will become the new replacement of Neoliberalism? From time to time, I find myself considering this question. The historical background now is remarkably similar. I bet some Hacker News headlines (e.g. "UK votes to leave EU") we've seen has already appeared in a 2060 exam on the early 2010s-2030s, not unlike the our impression of early 1910s-1930s history.

sdfin 6y ago
What's the difference between liberalism and neoliberalism? I'd like to read something about that.
- Kednicma 6y ago
  Wikipedia has a fine overview on all of this. All liberals, from classical liberals to metaliberals, believe in basic tenets of freedom which are required to have a consenting and aware government, like free speech and freedom to keep private property. Neoliberals are right-of-center liberals who focus on fiscal power, consumerist economy, and free markets. The main distinction worth highlighting is that neoliberalism does not view it as a problem when large piles of money participate in politics. After all, free markets imply that market leaders must know something about something and aren't merely lucky; therefore they are worth putting in charge of government. In Hong Kong, we see this taken to an extreme, with banks directly voting to choose legislators, but we also see variants all over the world, like the infamous Citizens United vs FEC decision in the USA which allows corporations to directly steer political action committees. Liberalism is the ACLU; neoliberalism is Disney. The ACLU works to defend everybody's rights; Disney just wants to make money.
  - leephillips 6y ago
    Thank you for that rundown; I found it useful, because I’m also hazy about this terminology. I hesitate to take this into what might be an irrelevant and contentious side road, but I just want to remark that the ACLU is not considered an organization that defends “everybody’s“ rights by everybody. They’ve historically done a fantastic job at defending freedom of speech, press, and assembly, and also 4th amendment rights. Aside from that, it depends on the cultural background of whatever lawyers happen to have influence in the organization. I don’t think most gun owners would say the the ACLU is interested in defending them against the government’s infringement of their rights to keep and bear arms, for example. And, more recently, they’ve taken stances that some people consider misogynistic, by telling women that they have no right to women-only spaces, for example. Women have increasing reason to feel that the ACLU is not defending their rights, in this sphere. So are they a good example of Liberalism? I guess it’s complicated.
    - dalbasal 6y ago
      These things are never clean. In the context of 20th century liberalism, some rights are more broadly accepted than others. Freedom of speech, press, free assembly, political association, rule of law, religion, property etc... these are the core freedoms.. the liberties liberalism refers to. Gun rights are somewhat unique to America so IDK how to treat them. Other rights... these are not necessarily "liberal" rights. Socialism, for example, always criticised liberals for leaving workers rights and economic rights out of the equation. The ones that exist in law came about later, from socialist (progressives in US terms) agitations that came from "left" of the liberals. Women only spaces, other such rights... I'm not sure how they relate to liberalism. Feminism generally has not been a purely liberal movement. It had/has many camps and influences. Liberalism does not mean support for every right. In fact, early liberalism opposed the "rights and privileges" of monarchs, clergy and the aristocracy. Those rights, for example, are part of the UK constitution, but liberals are against them.
tim333 6y ago
Brexit and Trump don't really compare to WW1. The big change that I think is coming is AGI which will change things more than WW1. Not quite sure how it'll play out.