Liberalism is the political philosophy that everyone in the West lives under and in the English speaking world it has been that way since 1689. Yet when people ask the question, what has gone wrong, many things get blamed, but rarely Liberalism. Even though it has been in charge for generations, for centuries. It’s a family portrait that you never look at because it has always been there.
But once you do notice it’s quite a shock. The picture that it likes to put forward is one of benign and happy progress. Everything’s good and getting better. You should just sit back and enjoy the ride. Many of us do notice that things are wrong, but Liberalism doesn’t like you noticing. It then becomes the case that some things once seen cannot be unseen. Which then leads people to ask how does Liberalism work?
Is it a grand conspiracy?
Is it a series of small conspiracies?
Or is it a Logic, a mind set?
Many go down the path of grand conspiracy, it has a certain logic to it. But once you look at how long everything has been going on then it really needs a supernatural element to work. Which some claim to see, however the evidence for either the supernatural or a grand conspiracy are lacking. Even if I also find the idea tempting at times.
I know I’ve seen it, you may also have seen it, a Liberal changing their opinion on a topic instantly as they realise that what they have been saying is not supported by other Liberals. It’s an amazing thing to see, eerie even. Today they are sometimes called NPC’s, because in computer games Non Player Characters (NPC) have few if any options and so they only say what they are programmed to say.
Which leads to a conclusion, that Liberals learn what to say and more importantly what to think from other Liberals. Which includes but is not limited to teachers, friends, the internet, TV, movies, radio and last but not least family. We learn things from other people even when we don’t know it. However that doesn’t explain why those at the top do this as well. They do it because they know what the next step should be, the next step is nearly always logical and they pay attention to what that next step will be. Not every next step is logical, but they normally fall by the wayside. Which means that Liberalism is a Logic, something that leads from one thought to the next and that means that it possible see where it will lead.
But at the same time Liberalism is also a series of constant small conspiracies. So what is a conspiracy?
Here is my definition:
‘A conspiracy is a plan formulated in secret by two or more individuals with the intention of carrying out some form of action.’
Most definitions state that it must also include a bad intent, but I disagree, Organising a surprise birthday party is a conspiracy. It also implies that only secret meetings with stated bad intentions are conspiracies and I think that is too limiting. Governments and other organisations meet in secret all the time, meetings that are rarely if ever revealed to ordinary citizens and for the most part it would be very boring knowing them all. But within those meetings things happen that do have bad intentions, even if those taking part do not think that that is true. I think that qualifies as a conspiracy.
But this can be taken too far, there is no question that conspiracies are real and that they have an effect. But Liberalism is at its core a Logic, something that progresses from one thought to the next and that any conspiracies arising from it comes after the thought and in support of the thought.
Something to think about.
Originally published at Upon Hope. You can find Mark’s Subscribestar here.