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May 31, 2016 Andrés Velasco

سانتياجو- من النمسا وفرنسا والولايات المتحدة الإمريكية إلى بولندا والفلبين وبيرو يتصاعد نجم الشعوبيين غير الليبراليين والبعض يلوم العولمة الخارجة عن السيطرة وآخرون يلومون إنعدام المساواة ولكن ما يزال هناك من يلقي اللوم على النخب المنعزلة عن الناس والذين بكل بساطة لا يفهمون الواقع.

إن هذه التفسيرات وإن كانت تبدو مقنعة لا تستوعب النقطة الأهم والأكبر وهي إن المشكلة سياسية وليست فقط إقتصادية فالديمقراطية الليبرالية هي الإنجاز السياسي الأعظم للبشرية ولكن الديمقراطيين الليبراليين حول العالم يترددون في الدفاع عنها ولا عجب أنهم يخسرون المعركة من أجل الفوز بقلوب وعقول الناس .

إن المشكلة ليست جديدة بالمرة ففي واقع الأمر المشكلة تكمن في جوهر الليبرالية فالمفكرون الليبراليون المعارضون للرقابة أو القمع عادة ما يلجأون للحياد الإخلاقي فهم لا يؤيدون مجموعة قيم محددة أو تعريف محدد للحياة الجيدة فالمجتمع الليبرالي يمكن مواطنيه من إختيار أسلوب الحياة الذي يناسبهم طالما الأطراف الأخرى لا تعاني بسبب ذلك .

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Andrés Velasco

Writing for PS since 2001
85 Commentaries

Andrés Velasco, a former presidential candidate and finance minister of Chile, is Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of numerous books and papers on international economics and development, and has served on the faculty at Harvard, Columbia, and New York Universities.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 21 in all 21 Comments on this article

John Patrick Cooney Sep 29, 2016

The conversation is most rude on both sides of the discussion. Liberals have morphed into a non-tolerant group while conservatives are wholly abused and dismissed. The example of a government that repeatedly turns its back on illegitimate schemes of personal enrichment and flagrant disregard for law alienates massive numbers of the electorate. Both sides have watched the inner cities of America descend into a hell on earth. The Democratic Party's
legacy of re-enslaving black and poor white Americans is abominable. The traditional Republican response has been pathetic. Possibly with a contrarian focus of a Trump, real reform can take place. There is no room in my heart for politicians who will not follow through to end this madness. ISIS is not our number one threat to peace and security, it's our lack of love and commitment to our abandoned masses in the cities along with our rural poor. A continuation of empty rhetoric must end.
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Wayne Peterson Jun 20, 2016

Mr Velasco, you state: "Today, US President Barack Obama is the only liberal democratic leader who speaks the language of values and virtue." I suggest you consider Mr. Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada as at least one other liberal democratic leader who speaks the language of values and virtue.
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eric zepp Jun 9, 2016

There still is a lot to lose, but its shrinking fast. Sadly, the Trump supporters seem to believe they think setting a back-fire is the last best chance to save at least part of the village. In terms Vargas Llosa describes in "Notes on the Death of Culture" this is all part of the Spectacle. We are all now willing or unwilling participants in the kardashian-azation of society. It matters not if you are corrupt or a blowhard, its the adulation, the "buzz", and ultimately the ratings that count.
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eric zepp Jun 9, 2016

There still is a lot to lose, but its shrinking fast. Sadly, the Trump supporters seem to believe they think setting a back-fire is the last best chance to save at least part of the village. In terms Vargas Llosa describes in "Notes on the Death of Culture" this is all part of the Spectacle. We are all now willing or unwilling participants in the kardashian-azation of society. It matters not if you are corrupt or a blowhard, its the adulation, the "buzz", and ultimately the ratings that count.
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eric zepp Jun 7, 2016

'Liberal democracy is humankind’s greatest political achievement'. Yes. Along with its necessary twin, the free market. However, Liberals are no longer liberal. They are now "progressives", and having gained power, have sown the seeds for the destruction of both
- eric zepp Jun 9, 2016
  
  True, we shouldn't talk in absolutes, as none ever really existed for either liberal democracy or free markets. However, the closer you get to free markets, the closer you can come to a liberal democracy, (in the classic more libertarian meaning), and the closer you come to a liberal democracy, the freer the markets. Either way, better the outcome for society. Limit one, you will sooner or later limit the other, and the outcomes worsen.
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- Curtis Carpenter Jun 9, 2016
  
  The claim that "free markets" -- those economic unicorns steered by a mystical "invisible hands" -- are the necessary twin of democracy, is I think the product of an economically overdetermined "it's the economy, stupid" culture that the West has been drifting into for over half a century now.
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j. von Hettlingen Jun 6, 2016

Andrés Velasco believes that the rise of populism has much the liberals' political correctness to thank for. He urges them to take to "the barricades" and regain the ground lost to populists. Despite widespread frustration among the middle class over globalisaton and income inequality, the author says the "problem is political, not just economic." Even though "liberal democracy is humankind’s greatest political achievement," he says, "liberal democrats around the world are reluctant to make the case for it."
Indeed, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Francis Fukuyama touted the triump of liberal democracy in a post-communist world. However the author points out that "politics everywhere is Aristotelian: concerned with virtue," and that it is important that "politicians advocate a particular set of values - or virtues." But there was much optimism in the post-Cold War era that an ideology was seen as obsolete. The US was the only superpower, while China rose and became the centre of global industrial growth based on low wages. Europe's re-emergence as a massive, integrated economic power planted the seed for today's malaise, triggered by the 2008 financial crisis, following years of heavy public spending. When mainstream politicians have failed to deliver in recent years, populists are filling the vacuum, reaching out to the disaffected masses and winning their "hearts and minds." So the stalling economy and - especially - the refugee crisis had helped populism gain traction.
It's true that liberal thinkers espouse in general "moral neutrality" - an elegant balance of liberty and equality - and oppose "censorship or oppression." But their lack of "a single set of values, or a particular definition of what constitutes a good life" leave those stranded, who rely on the guidance of moral authorities in times of crisis. Religious fundamentalists see a "liberal society" as a thorn in their side, because they believe the live and let live prinicple would ultimately lead to decadence and come to harm "third parties." Liberal thinkers find themselves in a "liberalism's quandary," as they see it as "discriminatory and illiberal to promote, much less impose, a particular group’s values, religious or otherwise." The author says "political leaders can and should advocate the shared values.....that define a liberal society," to make themselves relevant.
Indeed, "ceding the terrain of emotion-shaping to anti-liberal forces" like Trump and French National Front leader Marine Le Pen is wrong, because they "use passion in the service of a politics of fear and hatred," instead of advocating for "political ideals.....which value human reason above base emotions. Here we see the difference in political campaigns - liberal messages are "in a tone best suited to small, polite gatherings" - quite the contrary to those raucous rallies held by ranting demagogues, making "people think of liberal values as tepid and boring.”
The author says "Obama is the only liberal democratic leader who speaks the language of values and virtue," and he shows that both "reason and emotion" can be employed as a "political persuasion." Experts say, "proper emotions are rational" and not "an illicit appeal to irrationality." If liberal democrats are suffering setbacks, they shouldn't put the blame on populists, but to reach out to the masses and tell them all about their willingness to share "responsiblity" and a better future built together, if necessary sharing "sacrifices." The author believes that "no social or political organization in human history has come closer than liberal democracy to realizing the ideal of equal opportunity for all" - an achievement worth defending.
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Robert Mullen Jun 6, 2016

For decades we in the USA were told the liberals want to reduce inequality. But they don't, it just gets worse. For example, Obama could have simply vetoed any extension of the regressive Bush tax cuts. The result would have been a lower deficit and a more progressive tax code. No compromise was necessary -- it was entirely within his power. But no .... the "compromise" is always more state debt to reward the liberal/left and more corporate profit for the conservative/right.
Meanwhile the commentariat tars the populists, the last folks that actually pushed back corporations and cleaned up government.
- Curtis Carpenter Jun 7, 2016
  
  Vetoes can of course be over-ridden, and that result can be anticipated without doing too much advanced mathematics. The ability to count is, in many cases, quite adequate to the task.
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Stan Sorscher Jun 5, 2016

Obama's uplifting values-based rhetoric proves he has good writers. He is a corporatist with good writers. If Obama's actions reflected his rhetoric, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump would be enjoying the campaign season in relative obscurity.
- Curtis Carpenter Jun 6, 2016
  
  Is it possible, do you think, that the Congress may have played a rather important role in limiting Obama's ability to act?
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Gary Palmero Jun 5, 2016

Martin Luther King's appeal was to moral reasoning in that American blacks be treated equally in American society. Most Americans were in sympathy with his goals, the hold back were some Southern political leaders and a few well placed bigots from varied constituencies. When their opposition was vanquished through legislation, things fell into place smoothly (at least legally but mostly in practice, also).

The current threat is perceived to be economic which tends to engender base emotions since many voters feel they are being economically disenfranchised. The American elite have thus far failed to recognize this issue which has led to the current turmoil.

It is to the credit of Republican voters that they have informed their party that the status quo will no longer work. The perceived misfortune is that this has been capitalized by Donald Trump who may or may not be the answer. The Democratic voters continue to be the victim of party elite cramdown to the extent that an old socialist has gotten considerable traction in what currently appears o be a stacked against him effort.

The most spectacular failures come from past successes that no longer work. It should be an interesting period up to and perhaps beyond the US Presidential election.
- stephan Edwards Jun 6, 2016
  
  Why not burn the village Mr. Carpenter ? We have nothing left to loose.
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- Curtis Carpenter Jun 6, 2016
  
  I disagree Mr. Stouch. There is both reason and judgement in Mr. Palmero's observations. He does seem to over-minimize the problem with Republican voter's turn to Trump to declare their dissatisfaction with the party status quo: they seem to be adopting the strategy of burning the village to save it for the people.
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- Louis Stouch Jun 5, 2016
  
  I don't know what planet this guy is on, but its not Earth.
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dan baur Jun 1, 2016

Enlightenment is key word for elitist oligarchy - just ask the people in the banlieue. What do you know? The populus is waking up to that.

Honestly, I don't understand how the French can celebrate instead of being ashamed of the carnage called French Revolution.
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Steve Hurst May 31, 2016

'Liberal democracy is humankind’s greatest political achievement'

Would the author possibly be a liberal I ask
- dan baur Jun 1, 2016
  
  No. He's just misappropriating the label.
  
  Ask him how he feels about Market liberties, and he will try to convince you that the bureaucracy knows better than the people.
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Curtis Carpenter May 31, 2016

A very good, powerful essay and food for thought. But I'm reminded of the old saying that if you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas.

That said, a form of what I would call "political defeatism" does seem to me to have penetrated close to the roots of our Western liberal democracies, and perhaps some form of counter-demagoguery is going to be required to address it. As David Hume famously wrote, "reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them."

Meanwhile, the representative attitude expressed by Mr. Edwards in his comment below needs to be taken seriously, or the people may end up throwing the baby out with the bath water -- with no clue as to what either might be replaced with.
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stephan Edwards May 31, 2016

Democracy is deader then the passenger pigeon, How many poor or even middle class people are in Congress? And how many are not millionaires after 10 years? And whose wants and interests do they respond to? It surely isn't the people who work for an hourly wage! Shared ? The only thing that has been shared is Wallstreets bad debts!!!! Sacrifice? Every time one of our "Elites" mentions sacrifice they are not talking them. I have been replaced and forced to train my H1B replacement twice watched my job shipped to the third world because I can not work for a dollar an hour. Shared My A--! Liberal Democracy has been replaced by government of by and for rich people and companies. We now live in a country of private profits and taxpayer losses. I won't vote for Trump but he is appealing to the people that the Establishment has told Shut up! Die and stop bothering us! We are to busy getting rich to care about your problems. And I understand their position perfectly. we who actually work have been abandoned ignored and despised and any change looks good. The only thing trickling down on me from Wall street or the Ivory tower isn't rain. Look around Democracy is DOA. When candidates stop off to kiss Sheldon Adelson's ....ring before they actually decide to run it kind of says it all.
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