How Tribalism Defeated 2010s Classical Liberalism | TaraElla Clips

About five to seven years ago, there was a lot of energy around the idea that we should seriously explore and debate big ideas, that nothing should be taboo, and more good faith debate can only lead us closer to the truth. It really felt like a classical liberal revival was in the air, with irrational postmodernist forces being the only thing that could stand in our way.

Yet, by 2020, this energy seems to have receded, and after the 2020 US Elections, I haven't even seen a hint of this optimism anywhere in (relatively) mainstream media. Nowadays, everywhere you look, there is negativity, us-vs-them sentiments, moral panics, and more negativity. The thing is, when one embraces negativity and fear, classical liberal values no longer make that much sense. They could even be seen as showing weakness towards the enemy. The summer of optimism for big ideas has given way to a harsh and bitter winter.

So why has this happened? I think, unfortunately, the answer is that too many people have fallen for something that I consider to be the root of most of the evil in this world: something we can broadly call tribalism. Tribalism has destroyed meaning, and created fear of the unfamiliar in its place. As a result, too many people adhere to dogma that they probably know is wrong (or at least questionable) in their hearts, just to demonstrate loyalty to their tribe. For these people, nothing matters, except being part of their tribe. I think this is very dangerous. I mean, major errors have been made, minorities have been persecuted, wars have been started, and people have been killed, all because of this kind of tribalism.