Creating Space for a Liberal Conservatism | TaraElla Clips

This is an excerpt from an article by TaraElla.

To include liberal conservatives in the liberal discourse doesn't mean that progressives need to give up their values, beliefs and policy goals. It merely requires that conservative ideas and voices be given an equal hearing, as long as they are within the classical liberal consensus. It would also require progressive liberals to be aware of, and consciously reject, some ideas that have their roots in postmodernism and critical theory. These include Michel Foucault's idea that speech and discourse are exercises of power, and Herbert Marcuse's idea that indiscriminate tolerance is repressive, expressed in the famous Repressive Tolerance essay. These ideas were gradually mainstreamed by radical activists in the past 50 years, and they have caused a crisis of confidence in old-school liberal values like free speech and freedom of conscience, as well as a distortion in how liberalism is practiced more generally. These ideas need to be consciously rejected once and for all, by those who are truly committed to liberalism.

Within the framework of classical liberal norms, there is still much unique ground a liberal conservatism can cover. Liberalism must remain committed to values like individual liberty, free speech, equality before the law, and civil rights guarantees for everyone, including minorities. These principles must not be compromised, and we must take a firm stance against the illiberal positions of culture war reactionaries. On the other hand, there is still plenty of room for a conservatism that doesn't violate the aforementioned principles. For example, there can be a focus on building stronger families, curing the problem of high divorce rates, restoring public decency and modesty as a norm, and so on. Indeed, without the divisiveness of culture war politics, we can better bring people into a coalition to achieve these aims.